Surprise billing legislation appears to coincide with decreased reimbursements to anesthesiologists, a recent analysis found.
Here is more on that study and four other anesthesia industry updates to know:
- Reimbursements paid to anesthesiologists in hospital outpatient departments and ASCs decreased after state surprise billing legislation was passed, according to an analysis published in JAMA Network Open. The decline was attributed to changing payer-practitioner negotiation dynamics.
The analysis looked at 2.5 million claims in California, Florida and New York filed by privately insured patients who received anesthesia services in HOPDs and ASCs between 2014 and 2017. They were compared to claims filed in 45 states without surprise billing legislation.
- Tony Mira, Anesthesia Business Consultants' president and CEO, laid out practical strategies for anesthesia practices to exert control in their facilities in a recent blog post. His suggestions: Customer service, data sharing and working with administration.
- HHS released an interim final rule Sept. 30 which fleshes out provisions in the No Surprises Act passed by Congress Dec. 27. Three changes to know include rules around independent dispute resolution, good faith estimates for the uninsured and the dispute resolution process.
- Irving, Texas-based NorthStar Anesthesia expanded its services with three health systems — Mon Health, Piedmont Healthcare and Texas Health, the company said Oct. 12.
- CRH Medical Corp. acquired a majority stake in two Florida anesthesia practices, the company said Oct. 7.