“Opting-out” of the Medicare rule that requires anesthesia to be administered with physician supervision has little or no impact on access to either inpatient or outpatient surgery, according to a study published in Health Economics Review. Researchers also found the opt-out policy does not reduce costs, and in some cases may be associated with higher costs…
Access to Anesthesia Does Not Increase with ‘Opt Out’ Rule
The Medicare “opt-out” rule that allows anesthesia to be administered without physician supervision does not increase patient access to anesthesia care, according to a study recently published online in Anesthesia and Analgesia. The study shows that overall, opt-out states experienced a lower growth in anesthesia cases (anesthesia utilization rates) compared with non-opt-out states, suggesting that opt-out…