Washington, DC (AANA) – The Trump Administration issued a formal Request for Information (RFI) today, seeking input on Medicare’s physician supervision requirement for certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs). The request comes in the wake of recent opt-outs across the country that have led 29 states and territories to opt out of this unnecessary rule. The RFI came as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule on Cutting Administrative Requirements for Excellence in Patient Care.
CRNAs provide critical and high-quality anesthesia care to communities across the country, and are often the sole provider of anesthesia in rural and underserved communities. They ensure that these communities have access to safe, timely and affordable surgical care, obstetric care, preventive care, and pain management.
“The Trump Administration took an important step during the Public Health Emergency to waive this unnecessary and restrictive bureaucracy. Today’s RFI builds on the success of that effort,” said AANA President Tracy Young, MSNA, MBA, CRNA. “The peer-reviewed research continues to show that removing these barriers increases access to care, maintains the highest quality safety, and provides facilities with much needed flexibility to determine the models that work best for them without Medicare making that decision for them. We look forward to continuing to work with the Trump Administration to modernize this outdated Medicare rule to better serve patients in communities all over America.”
The AANA is continuing to work with CMS and the Trump Administration to address this outdated and unnecessary barrier to care, and ensure that states and facilities are the ultimate decision makers in what anesthesia staffing models work best for their patients. Join AANA in supporting this effort here: aana.quorum.us/campaign/172713.
About American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA)
The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) represents more than 71,000 members, including nearly 69,000 CRNAs and nurse anesthesiology residents. CRNAs practice in every setting in which anesthesia is delivered, safely administering more than 58 million anesthetics to patients each year in the United States, including traditional hospital surgical suites and obstetrical delivery rooms; critical access hospitals; ambulatory surgical centers; the offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, plastic surgeons, and pain management specialists; and U.S. military, Public Health Services, and Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare facilities. Through advocacy, education, research and professional resources, AANA works to advance the nurse anesthesiology profession and help improve patient care.