SB 930 creates a new section of Missouri insurance law governing how health carriers and health benefit plans must pay for anesthesia services. The bill defines key terms such as anesthesia time, anesthesia time units, health carrier, health benefit plan, and payment of anesthesia services, and ties payment calculations to standard medical coding and billing practices, including CPT coding, Medicare claims-processing guidance, and recognized anesthesia organization guidance.
The bill prohibits health carriers and health benefit plans from adopting or enforcing policies that impose a time limit on payment for anesthesia services during a medical or surgical procedure, or that exclude all anesthesia time from the payment calculation. It also makes clear that excepted benefit plans are covered by the section. The requirements would apply to plans delivered, issued for delivery, continued, or renewed in Missouri on or after August 28, 2026.
Impact
SB 930 would amend Chapter 376, RSMo, by adding section 376.1245 and regulating payment practices for anesthesia services in state-regulated health benefit plans. It would affect health carriers, insurers, and plan administrators by limiting their ability to cap anesthesia reimbursement based on time or to disregard anesthesia time entirely when calculating payment. The bill also extends these requirements to excepted benefit plans and to the Missouri consolidated health care plan, thereby broadening its reach across multiple categories of coverage.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee transcript or vote history, so there is no documented debate or recorded opposition in the materials provided. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears consumer- and provider-protective, aiming to standardize anesthesia reimbursement and prevent restrictive payment practices. The absence of recorded votes or discussion means the overall sentiment cannot be measured directly from legislative proceedings in the provided context.
Contention
The main policy issue raised by the bill is whether insurers and health plans should be barred from limiting anesthesia reimbursement by time or from excluding anesthesia time from payment calculations. Potential contention would likely come from health carriers and plan sponsors concerned about cost, administrative flexibility, and contract pricing, while anesthesia practitioners and patient advocates would likely support the bill as a safeguard against underpayment or arbitrary payment caps. Another possible point of debate is the bill’s application to excepted benefit plans and the Missouri consolidated health care plan, which broadens the scope of regulation beyond standard commercial coverage.
Requires health insurance policies include coverage for anesthesia for the entire duration of a procedure for which a licensed medical practitioner has issued an order for such anesthesia.