My "We are for now going to continue to pay the full cost of anesthesia during surgeries" statement has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my statement.
Are they going to have a talk with every physician/NPP who accepts their policy and who discussed this in public?
That would keep them busy for a while.
Idk, I’m not an anesthesiologist, but my basic understanding from my anesthesia rotation was that it’s medically appropriate to continue anesthesia for at least as long as the surgeons are sticking stabby/slashy/burny things in the patient
As an accountant I disagree the prices of anesthesia should fall on the client since it’s not required in a procedure and would boost shareholders money. ( yes that’s how those meetings goes lol )
I'd read a news report about this "misunderstanding," but it was still unclear what the misunderstanding was supposed to be. They say they'll pay for what is "medically necessary" and then base it on a pre-defined time, not addressing the remaining cost falling to the patient.
If they have something to say to you, they can simply write it in the email. The people always want to meet and explain something not public sometimes have something shady. They could also make a video on yt or whatever.
"Why use anesthesia? 150 years ago it was enough to just get drunk as hell. Sure. You passed out from the pain and alcohol poisoning but afterwards you only remembered half of it"
Riiiiiight. I hope you go and talk to them. They deserve someone looking them in the eye and unblinkingly explaining how full of shit it is to email ONE influencer to keep up appearances when really the people they owe an explanation to are the American public and all American physicians.
Always tag sarcasm as sarcasm in social media.
Since 2016 the phrase "nobody would seriously say/think that" and "They must know i'm being sarcastic" doesn't work anymore. Because there's always someone who will actually really think that. At least 60 million people in the USA alone i guess
Do they think you're going to find them intimidating/authoritative and politely be persuaded by their lies?? I cannot fathom having a conversation with someone, lying through my fucking teeth, knowing full well that they also know I'm lying through my fucking teeth.
We know that surgery is an important event in most people’s lives so we ask you this: is it really ethical for us to let patients miss out on such an experience?
Even if the most common interpretation of the policy is incorrect (in which case they did a shitty job of communicating it), the fact that so many people believe it should be a wake-up call about their reputation
I remember when they were denying paying for cardiac work ups if the final diagnosis was gas/GERD/Anxiety etc so; they have a record they need to own up to.
Oh pleease meet with them! Peds over here with my lollipops, glitter crocs and unicorn masks waiting for their explanation of how they met with the Anesthesia Reps & had NO audits/ NO anesthesia claims overcharges. Limiting anesthesia to fix nonexistent fraud. Hmmm.
(Or better yet, do something useful like supporting the expansion of CAA, which would decrease surgical wait times, lower costs, and increase quality.)
Absolutely agree. But tell them that you will record the meeting, with the right to use the data however, you want, and you will charge them. But you will only tell them how much you will charge them after the meeting. They must agree to whatever rate you choose before you agree to the meeting.
i wouldn't mind seeing ortho bro. he would get angry at this and there's nothing quite like the righteous anger of a gentle soul pushed to their breaking point
but i think you need someone with the ego of a surgeon and the intelligence of a non-surgeon for this
Maybe… but Pediatrician would be unexpected. It may kill them to have to respond to joyful innocence combined with sincere care for humans wrapped under one glorious unicorn horn.
This line of comments is hilarious, because it sounds like the warnings people used to get when they had to deal with faeries. "Don't eat anything they offer you. Don't follow them. If they tell you to go right, you go left."
100%. BCBS hates that they were publicly exposed. Now they begin their pretzel-like contortions to convince us all that we had their greed and shamelessness all wrong.
Go ahead and meet with them, but try not to laugh!
I've mostly been hanging back to see how things shake out, but I *have* heard from people who are pretty good about vetting their sources that the ASA may have misrepresented the situation because the policy is intended to target bill-padding.
I'm not saying that, but I haven't read everything out there. That said, to my understanding, there is legitimate cause for concern over deceptive billing practices in anesthesiology, and the actual text of the policy doesn't quite match the ASA's characterization of it.
Appreciate the links. It reminds me of Diagnosis Related Groups.
DRGs beginning in the 1980’s fixed hospital payments for any given diagnosis without regard to actual length of stay as an incentive to cut costs. Treat patients faster and profit; lose $ on complicated patients.
Give them a 1-800 number to call during incredibly inconvenient hours with a 30-digit reference code to repeat multiple times after being on hold 30+ minutes and multiple transfers…aka “peer-to-peer”
I'm all in against misinformation, but the very first thing professional liars will tell you, is that the thing you think you know is misinformation. So listen to them, as they and only they will tell you the "real truth", the one "others don't want you to know".
Ohhh. That explains the very odd Vox article I read this morning all about how really BCBS was trying to do everyone a favor by reining in greedy anesthesiologists, and of course patients wouldn't be paying!
Read a lot like people who think exporters pay import tariffs.
Changing a faucet usually takes me 30 min. But sometimes the work can drag the work for hours (old pipes that need to be changed, faulty valves, rusty parts, etc)
I'm no surgeon but I'm sure surgery is harder than plumbing. Setting a time for any surgery is nuts.
BCBS denied the ambulance ride for my critically ill newborn needing to be transferred to the higher level NICU for treatment to save his life and brain. We appealed and won but it was asinine.
I’d love to believe that, but given that they fight tooth and nail against charges of like $200, I find it hard to believe they’d sacrifice $300K of their billions of profit 😂😂
I think what they mean to say is "we notice a lot of people listen to you about your assessment of insurance companies and maybe if we have a chat we can feed you a line of BS and bribe you talk good about us to your followers"
"We reached out to Dr. Glau-something on the socials and I'm sure we'll have no trouble getting him to echo our message. Now time to take a big sip of coffee and read his skyli—"
they "just wanna talk"? yeah, make it a zoom meeting if you agree at all. don't end up in a closet having to do ridiculous peer to peers to be allowed food
Do it. Think of it as research for your new character, BCBS Medical Director. He might just be the evil twin of Private Equity, but your research could help you define the difference.
Comments
Given recent developments, I’d strongly encourage you to make it a virtual meeting!
That would keep them busy for a while.
"You see, what you're missing is..."
"Bro. No."
Neurology.
Ummmm...
Sounds like a trap, for this is sus af!
https://bsky.app/profile/swilua.bsky.social/post/3lcnt2qdqe22i
Since 2016 the phrase "nobody would seriously say/think that" and "They must know i'm being sarcastic" doesn't work anymore. Because there's always someone who will actually really think that. At least 60 million people in the USA alone i guess
https://www.npr.org/2024/12/05/nx-s1-5217617/blue-cross-blue-shield-anesthesia-anthem
So it means, they want the surgeries to go faster, or they want the patient to start waking up earlier?
Will they be carrying a mail-studded baseball bat?
The proposed policy required extra justification for billing for long surgeries to reduce fraud or exaggeration, similar to Medicare/medicaid.
Disclosure: I work for CVS, thoughts are my own.
https://www.vox.com/policy/390031/anthem-blue-cross-blue-shield-anesthesia-limits-insurance
Such glorious power, what will you do next?
Oh, wait. https://www.npr.org/2024/12/05/nx-s1-5217617/blue-cross-blue-shield-anesthesia-anthem
Very afraid.
Because they perfectly well know that nobody EVER misinterpreted their plans.
(Or better yet, do something useful like supporting the expansion of CAA, which would decrease surgical wait times, lower costs, and increase quality.)
And I'm here for all of it.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_asNhzXq72w
but i think you need someone with the ego of a surgeon and the intelligence of a non-surgeon for this
to meet with.
The only case where "spilling the Tea" might save your life. 😁
Go ahead and meet with them, but try not to laugh!
Covering ass, that is.
https://acasignups.net/24/12/05/update-x2-mea-culpa-looks-i-botched-one-also-anthem-reverses-course-ct
I'm officially stepping back from this because even if it's not your intent, I feel like I'm being needlessly interrogated here.
DRGs beginning in the 1980’s fixed hospital payments for any given diagnosis without regard to actual length of stay as an incentive to cut costs. Treat patients faster and profit; lose $ on complicated patients.
I'm all in against misinformation, but the very first thing professional liars will tell you, is that the thing you think you know is misinformation. So listen to them, as they and only they will tell you the "real truth", the one "others don't want you to know".
Everyone goes for laughs and giggles until it's Boeing treatment :P
Read a lot like people who think exporters pay import tariffs.
I'm no surgeon but I'm sure surgery is harder than plumbing. Setting a time for any surgery is nuts.
Jokes on me - should have been the post-surgical nausea that I worried about
And then say you lost it and have them do it again.
And then say you need one from their "social media communications specialist" as well.
But that one can only be faxed.
If no, what’s to explain?