Health Plans
Industry Surveys
Breakthroughs Reports
Events
Departments
- Leadership
- Finance
- Technology
- Physicians
- Community Hospitals
- Health Plans
- Marketing
- Quality
- Nursing
- HR
- Service Lines
Aetna to end payment for a drug in colonoscopies
New York Times, December 28, 2007
Aetna is the latest insurer to clamp down on the use of a powerful anesthetic during an increasingly common form of colon cancer screening. The company will send a letter to doctors, saying that it plans to classify the drug as "medically unnecessary" for most such procedures. As of April 1, Aetna plans to stop paying for its use in those cases. The change by Aetna comes on the heels of similar moves last year by WellPoint and six months ago by Humana. Other insurers say they have no plans to follow their lead, including UnitedHealthcare.
Most Viewed
Most Emailed
- 10 Major Changes to Health Reform in House's Reconciliation Bill
- Match Day a Reminder of Primary Care's Struggles
- Can 'Deadly Deliveries' Be a Wake-Up Call to Physicians, Hospitals?
- Cardiology Group Fights Medicare Pay Cuts by Offering Concierge Services
- Physicians Generate $1.5M Annually for Their Hospitals, Says Survey
- Hospitals Make Employee Flu Vaccinations a Patient Safety Issue
- 3 Lessons U.S. Healthcare Can Learn from France to Cut Infections
- Hospital Monitors Infectious Diseases Using Real-Time Surveillance
- Primary Care is Unappealing to Many Medical Students
- CBO: Latest Health Reform Bill Would Cost $940 Billion
