Aetna is holding back its plan to stop paying for use of powerful anesthesia used during colonoscopies - at least for a limited time only. But the insurer said that it expected that new drugs and devices may be made available that will end the argument over payments for the anesthesia.

The company said that they postponed its plan to stop paying for propofol, the drug which doctors use in colonoscopies that puts patients in a quick twilight state thus making the examination less uncomfortable.

A colonoscopy is an internal examination of entire length of the colon (large intestine), using an instrument called a colonoscope. The colonoscope is a small camera attached to a flexible tube. Colonoscopies are often used to diagnose colon cancer, but are also frequently used to diagnose inflammatory bowel disease.

Last December, Aetna offers a policy which had been set to take effect in April, said that it will stop paying for the use of propofol because it adds between $200 and $1,000 to the amount of the procedure because of the presence of an anesthesiologist that administers the drug, citing the practice as unnecessary spending.

Now Aetna said that they will continue to pay for the propofol until "attractive, patient-friendly alternatives to anesthesiologist-monitored sedation services" hit the market.