Anesthesia is any substance administered medically to a patient to prevent him/her from feeling pain during a surgical procedure. The medications used are called anesthetics, and various types exist to block the pain from different body parts or regions and induce sleep . They work by temporarily blocking pain and receiving signals from the nerves. let’s find out How much does Anesthesia Cost?
They are usually administered by an anesthesiologist or a trained nurse. A team of other professionals might also be made available to monitor the patient depending on how intense the procedure may be.
Types of Anesthesia :
The local or regional anesthesia is usually less expensive than the general anesthesia because less monitoring equipment is required. With a more serious procedure, the general anesthesia is recommended but regional anesthesia could likely be used as well:
1- Local anesthesia: In procedures that utilize local anesthesia, the patient is usually awake as only a small part of the body is being numbed to pain. It can be utilized in procedures like; dental procedures and cataract procedures. It is the least expensive of all types, usually $500
2- Regional anesthesia: This is used to numb pain in a particular region in a patient’s body, and can be carried out when the patient is in a conscious state.The cost of Regional anesthesia range from $500-$3500
3- General anesthesia: This anesthesia is used to put a patient in an unconscious state where he/ she is not responsive to pain or stimuli, this is used for more invasive procedures. This anesthesia is usually the most expensive of all anesthesia types.
4- Sedation: This type of anesthesia relaxes you and puts you in a more natural sleep but you could easily be awakened. A light sedation treatment may not require an anesthesiologist but deep sedation is done by an anesthetic professional because breathing interference is likely to occur as a result of the strong medication. In both cases, the patient is not completely unconscious. The average cost of sedation is $80-$150.
Factors That Affect The Pricing Of Anesthesia
• Several base Units:
Anesthesia itself is billed by units. That is the base unit that everyone is billed for that procedure . This includes the patient positioning, what the surgery will need like the set up of equipment, and how serious the procedure might be, also base units could be added depending on the age of the patient:e for patients older than 70 and less than 2, more base units are added. Another thing that adds to the base units is the emergency.
Surgery Average Number of Anesthesia Units
- Anesthesia for intracranial procedures nos 11
- Anesthesia for the plastic repair of cleft lip 6
- Anesthesia for procedures on the eye 4
- Anesthesia for intracranial procedures; burr holes 8
- Anesthesia for skull fracture 7
- Anesthesia for vulvectomy 4
- Anesth-intraperitoneal pro up Abdo, shunts/liver transplant. 30
Source: Department of Labor
Other factors that affect this and the cost of an Anesthesia include:
• Location:
The location in which the anesthesia is being administered would affect the cost of the anesthesia because the higher the conversion rate/ factor, the higher the price of the anesthesia. Below are some examples of conversion rates when determining your anesthesia costs. A few examples are stated below:
Location Conversion Factor
Miami, FL 21.93
Manhattan, NY 24.55
Houston, TX 22.07
Portland, OR 21.53
Detroit, MI 22.37
Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• Anesthesia provider:
The cost of your anesthesia will also depend on who administers it. It’s more affordable to receive one from a certified nurse than it is from a trained anesthesiologist. But it is more advisable to receive one from a trained anesthesiologist if the procedure involved is a complicated one.
Conclusion
Costs of your anesthesia can range from just $200 to $3500 and this depends mainly on the type. And these anesthesia costs typically include the number of anesthesia units, the anesthesia supply, and equipment fees, the provider’s charge per unit of anesthesia, and the duration of the procedure. If you are trying to determine the cost of anesthesia alone, you will want to know the average number of base units of anesthesia needed for the procedure, the time it takes to complete the procedure, and your location, which indicates the conversion factor. The standard formula provided below can be used.
Anesthesia Fee Amount = (Base Units + Time[units]) x Conversion Factor
Frequently asked questions:
1. Does insurance cover anesthesia?
Yes, it is usually covered by insurance for important and necessary procedures.
2. Does anesthesia shorten your life span?
According to studies carried out on rats, anesthesia does not shorten your life expectancy.
3. Can a patent be resistant to anesthesia?
Yes, some patients are more resistant to anesthesia depending on factors like; younger age, obesity, tobacco smoking, etc. Hence an increment in dosage is required.
4. Can a patient have dreams when under the influence of anesthesia?
No, the patient is in an unconscious state and cannot have dreams.
