The American Society of Anesthesiologists is urging CMS to keep Medicare’s physician supervision requirement for certified registered nurse anesthetists, according to a Nov. 9 news release shared with Becker’s.
CMS is seeking input on the future of the requirement, including whether to keep, revise or otherwise change it, through a request for information in its Cutting Administrative Requirements for Excellence in Patient Care proposed rule, issued last week.
According to the ASA, studies of states that have opted out of the supervision requirement show no meaningful improvement in access to anesthesia care, and that eliminating it would produce no direct Medicare savings.
Nurse anesthetist groups have long disputed claims that physician supervision improves safety.
“There have been numerous studies showing that nurse anesthetists’ outcomes are the same as physician anesthesiologists,” Melissa Croad, CRNA, government relations director of the Massachusetts Association of Nurse Anesthetists, told Becker’s in July 2025.
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