Aetna and American Specialty Health Network apparently had dropped coverage for chiropractic services in July, but the insurer agreed to pay bills after chiropractors complained to the attorney general.

Aetna said the issue was an inadvertent coding problem and not a dispute over coverage of chiropractic care.

"We determined that a new national agreement with a chiropractic benefits vendor did not specify all of the procedure codes that chiropractors in Connecticut can perform within the scope of their license," said Aetna spokeswoman Cynthia Michener. "We are currently reviewing claims submitted within the past month to see if any were denied improperly. If so, we will reprocess those claims."

Connecticut law mandates that health insurers provide coverage for chiropractic care "to the same extent" coverage is provided for services rendered by a physician. State-licensed chiropractors can offer services that a patient might also get at a doctor, such as use of an x-ray and other diagnostic machine to determine medical problems. If those services are covered when provided by medical doctors, they must also be covered when provided by chiropractors in Connecticut.

Attorney General George Jepsen asked about Aetna's claims administration agreement with American Specialty Health Network, which apparently dropped coverage for chiropractic services starting July 1, against state law. The insurer has agreed to review and reprocess the claims that were improperly denied.

"Aetna's prompt and fair response to this issue means providers will be paid for covered services and Aetna's enrollees will continue to receive the care to which they are entitled," Jepsen said. "Everyone benefits from this cooperation."

Estimates were not available to detail how many patients and providers were affected by the dropped coverage or how much was unpaid in claims. Since July 1, American Specialty Health Network provided claims administration and other services for chiropractic benefits available through Aetna health plans, except for Aetna's Traditional Choice plan in Connecticut, according to the Jepsen's office.

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