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Aetna to discontinue payment of monitored anesthesia care for routine colonoscopies

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, January 22, 2008

As of April 1, Aetna intends to halt payment for monitored anesthesia care for routine colonoscopies, according to the Somnia Anesthesia Services Web site.

Aetna feels that "conscious sedation is a safe and well-tolerated choice for most patients undergoing GI endoscopy. There is no generally accepted evidence demonstrating that average-risk patients require Medicare Administrative Contractors (MAC) for routine GI endoscopy. Therefore, we will cover MAC only for patients undergoing GI endoscopy with sedation-related risk factors," according to a letter sent to physicians in December, 2007.

For more information, visit the Somnia Anesthesia Services News RSS Web Blog here.

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