Minimally invasive surgery: a payer's point of view

For insurers, the decision to provide coverage for a new technology sets in motion a series of events that can cause real dilemmas. Ordinarily, a new technology, once covered as a benefit, expands in utilization, sometimes dramatically. The trick for the insurer is too determine how much of this new utilization is appropriate and how much is not. Failure to gain control of the technology can contribute to further cost increases.