Legislation Would Increase Rural Patients’ Access to Physician Anesthesia Care
Rural patients’ access to physician anesthesia care would expand under the Medicare Access to Rural Anesthesiology Act, H.R. 5256, which was recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Michigan Society of Anesthesiologists (MSA) joins the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) in applauding Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) for introducing this ASA-endorsed federal legislation.
“No matter where they live in the state – from big city to rural town – Michiganders deserve access to safe, high-quality anesthesia care from physician anesthesiologists,” said MSA President Michael Lewis, M.D., FASA. “The Medicare Access to Rural Anesthesiology Act is a crucial step toward ensuring that Americans living in rural areas can be cared for by an anesthesiologist when they need surgery.”
“My bipartisan legislation will modernize Medicare regulations and allow rural hospitals to use federal funding to hire and pay anesthesiologists. This bill is vital to ensure Michigan seniors in rural communities have access to the high-quality health services they can trust. Additionally, by ending unnecessary regulation, it will help develop a strong health care workforce in our communities,” said Moolenaar.
Many rural hospitals in Michigan and across the country are struggling to attract and keep physician anesthesiologists. The Medicare Access to Rural Anesthesiology Act will allow eligible rural hospitals to use an existing federal incentive program — the Medicare rural hospital pass-through payment — to bring highly educated and trained anesthesiologists into rural communities to partner with their physician-colleague surgeons in providing much-needed local surgical services. Anesthesiologists are uniquely trained physicians who complete four years of medical school, four years of residency and 12,000-16,000 hours of clinical training to oversee patient safety and anesthesia care during surgery and procedures.
Currently, the Medicare rural pass-through can only be used by rural hospitals for the services of non-physician anesthesia professionals, who include certified anesthesiologist assistants (CAAs) and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs). Physician anesthesiologists are not covered under the program, thereby limiting the ability of rural hospitals to use physician anesthesia services. Through a minor change to the existing law, the bill would give eligible rural hospitals the choice to hire physician anesthesiologists. Hundreds of hospitals and potentially thousands of patients will benefit from this change with an increase in patient safety and lives saved.
“From West Branch to Iron Mountain, patients deserve to have a physician anesthesiologist overseeing their care,” said Lewis. “The Michigan Society of Anesthesiologists thanks Rep. Moolenaar for his leadership on rural access to care and looks forward to this legislation advancing quickly through Congress.”
H.R. 5256 has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
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