General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Outrageous reason UnitedHealthcare halted critical surgery... and LAUGHED while mocking suicidal patient [View all]Ms. Toad
(35,704 posts)who has a specific patient in front of them, with a specific history, with which the doctor is familiar. That doctor made the assessment that she needed this surgery. My daughter has been taking medications for years against the consensus guidelines for treatment for a rare liver condition. Over that period, the guidelines have changed twice. Her medications have always been covered by insurance (at least 4 different plans).
Which brings me to the second point: The guidelines you quoted from were written in 2019, before COVID. Little is known about how COVID-related deafness is similar to (or different from) other deafness. Guidelines are not fixed in stone - they change as new information is available - and COVID is a whole lot of new information.
Finally, you linked to an anthem reference. Anthem has nothing to do with how traditional Medicare works. With few exceptions, Medicare follows the doctor's assessment of medical need.