A Pittsburgh-area ASC administrator said anesthesia coverage from certified registered nurse anesthetists now costs his center about double what it did five years ago.
Around 2021, Spartan Health Surgicenter in Monongahela, Pa., paid $85 to $100 an hour for CRNA coverage, said Patrick Garman, the center’s executive administrator.
“Now it’s double that,” Mr. Garman said Oct. 29 at Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs in Chicago. The third-party anesthesia group that covers his center now bills it $180 to $225 an hour for CRNA coverage.
National pay has climbed too. Average CRNA total compensation reached $291,396 as of July 2026, based on 559 peer-reported salaries compiled by Marit Health. That’s up from $181,000 in 2019. Median advertised CRNA pay hit $300,000 in September, up about 7% from $280,000 in November 2025, according to an Anesthesia Operations Consultants job-posting index.
Spartan is a freestanding multispecialty ASC jointly owned by area physicians and Penn Highlands Mon Valley. The center has used a CRNA-only anesthesia model since it opened in 2005. It handles 300 to 400 cases a month, most of which need anesthesia, Mr. Garman said.
“We can’t live without anesthesia,” he said.
Mr. Garman said competition in the Pittsburgh area leaves him little room to push back on rates. He said area health systems are all competing for the same staff.
“They’re all stealing from each other left and right,” he said. “Nurses, doctors, anesthesia people.”
He said he lost one CRNA when a competing health system offered a $100,000 sign-on bonus.
“Of course he’s going to go,” Mr. Garman said. “Some entities can’t compete at that level.”
Average CRNA signing bonuses may be around $20,000, with higher amounts in competitive markets, according to the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology.
He also said the experienced CRNAs he relied on have mostly retired. Nationally, around 12% of CRNAs plan to retire by 2027. He said some newer CRNAs aren’t used to doing four or five cataracts an hour or handling joint replacements and blocks.
His contract with the anesthesia group is up for renewal at the end of the year, and he said he isn’t willing to pay $400,000 to $500,000 a year for contract labor that isn’t on site 40 hours a week.
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.
