Here... Just Bite Down on This Bullet

WARNING for all Aetna subscribers who are planning to have a colonoscopy or an endoscopy in the near future: if you will require general anesthesia as opposed to conscious sedation, then... well... uhhhh... well... YOU'RE OUT OF LUCK. It's true, Aetna members: Aetna will no longer cover general anesthesia for these procedures. It's conscious sedation... OR NOTHING.

Don't believe me? Then please read the words directly from our friends at Aetna:


Are you planning to have a colonoscopy in the near future? That’s great – because this is a very important cancer screening procedure for people ages 50 and above that can easily save your life.

You may have heard that we were changing the way we will cover sedation services during colonoscopies and other routine endoscopic procedures. We have some important updates to share with you.

We have decided to delay the start of our new policy until gastroenterologists who now rely exclusively on monitored anesthesia (which requires the presence of an anesthesiologist) have time to transition to alternative forms of sedation that will be available in the near future. These alternative forms of sedation, like the moderate sedation that our policy has always covered and will continue to cover, can be given to you by the doctor performing the procedure.

We are delaying this policy for two reasons. First, in some parts of the country, doctors now routinely use monitored anesthesia care (which requires that two doctors be part of the procedure instead of one). In some cities and surrounding areas, many gastroenterologists do not offer their patients moderate sedation at all for endoscopies. Because of this, in some places our members may not be aware of the alternatives available to them, or might have trouble finding a doctor who will manage the sedation services without an anesthesiologist.


Isn't that nice? Yet another blanket policy. And once again, the needs of the patient are completely irrelevant in the eyes of Aetna. I think that we can count this as reason number 7512 why Aetna is the worst insurance company IN THE WORLD.