FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 592
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR CARTER.
2059S.02I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To amend chapter 376, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to insurance payments
for anesthesia.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 376, RSMo, is amended by adding theret o 1
one new section, to be known as section 376.2100, to read as 2
follows:3
376.2100. 1. As used in this section, the following 1
terms mean: 2
(1) "Anesthesia practitioner", an anesthesiologist or 3
an anesthesiologist assistant, as such terms are d efined in 4
section 334.400; 5
(2) "Anesthesia time", the period during which an 6
anesthesia practitioner is present with the patient, 7
beginning when the anesthesia practitioner begins to prepare 8
the patient for anesthesia in an operating room or 9
equivalent area, and ending when the anesthesia practitioner 10
is no longer delivering anesthesia services to the patient 11
and the patient may be placed safely under postoperative or 12
post-anesthesia care. In calculating anesthesia time, an 13
anesthesia practitioner may include blocks of time around 14
interruptions, provided that the anesthesia practitioner is 15
delivering continuous anesthesia care in the time periods 16
before and after each interruption; 17 SB 592 2
(3) "Health carrier", the same meaning as is ascribe d 18
to it in section 376.1350. 19
2. Reimbursement amounts from a health carrier for 20
anesthesia services shall be calculated under the prevailing 21
medical coding and billing standards in the professional 22
medical billing community. Reimbursement amount s for 23
anesthesia services shall be calculated based on a base, 24
plus time units, multiplied by an anesthesia conversion 25
factor as defined in the individual contract between the 26
health carrier and anesthesia practitioner or group of 27
anesthesia practitio ners. Anesthesia time shall be 28
recognized with time units no more than fifteen minutes in 29
duration. The sum of the anesthesia time units shall equal 30
the anesthesia time. 31
3. No health carrier shall directly or indirectly 32
impose a maximum duratio n of anesthesia time for which 33
reimbursement will be made for anesthesia provided during a 34
health care service for which anesthesia is covered. 35
4. No health carrier shall directly or indirectly 36
restrict or exclude all anesthesia time from reimburs ement 37
for a health care service for which anesthesia is covered. 38