Brian Shinault, CEO of American Strategic Partners, Supports Permanently Removing Physician Supervision of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs)

Washington, DC, March 14, 2023 --(PR.com)-- Brian Shinault, CEO of American Strategic Partners, released the following statement in support of permanently removing physician supervision of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs).

American Strategic Partners will join the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) in lobbying the Biden Administration and the 118th Congress to pass and enact H.R. 833 as law. The bipartisan “Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act” (H.R. 833) provides enhanced payments to rural healthcare providers to help ensure the viability of these important local healthcare facilities. H.R. 833 also includes a provision to permanently remove physician supervision of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) under Medicare Part A conditions of participation and a provision to include non-medically directed CRNA services as a mandatory benefit under the Medicaid program.

Read the bill here.

“American Strategic Partners has thoroughly investigated this issue by interviewing with doctors in diverse medical practices throughout the United States and researching data. Moreover, American Strategic Partners has engaged with representatives of the AANA and studied their data prepared in support of this issue.

“Our findings have determined that it is imperative and not an option that the temporary pause on this regulation due to the public health emergency be deemed permanent by law. Research has shown that rural communities are in dire need and the ‘Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act’ comes at a time when rural hospitals and health centers are facing unprecedented challenges and are struggling to keep their lights on and serve their communities.” According to the National Rural Health Association, more than 170 rural hospitals across the country have closed their doors since 2005, and 453 rural hospitals are currently operating at levels like those that have shut down during the last decade, meaning they are vulnerable for closure. This is forcing patients to travel further to get the care they need and leaving others to put off necessary healthcare. According to the AANA, CRNAs are the primary providers of anesthesia care in rural settings and have been instrumental in delivering care during the pandemic to patients where they live and when they need it. In many medical settings, CRNAs serve as the sole anesthesia provider in rural hospitals, affording these facilities the capability to provide many necessary procedures.

The importance of CRNA services in rural areas was highlighted in a recent survey that examined the relationship between socioeconomic factors related to geography and insurance type and the distribution of anesthesia provider type. The study correlated CRNA services with lower-income populations and correlated anesthesiologist services with higher-income populations.

Of importance to the implementation of public benefit programs in the U.S., the study also showed that compared with anesthesiologists, CRNAs are more likely to work in areas with lower median incomes and larger populations of citizens who are unemployed, uninsured, and/or Medicaid beneficiaries.

For more information on this issue, contact American Strategic Partners or via linkedin.com/in/brian-shinault-jd-70a038b4.

Sources:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/833?(H.R. 833);
https://www.aana.com/news (02-23-2023/newsroom press release)
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/geographical-imbalance-of-anesthesia-providers-and-liao-quarishi/77112f1f7ca09a86142b4f5e7c065ae9a073dec2