Anesthesia

Here are five numbers that offer a snapshot of the state of anesthesiology today:  

The changes in anesthesiologist reimbursement and pay have surgery center leaders rethinking their anesthesia models.

Four anesthesia practices are suing CMS and HHS, among other parties, alleging CMS' methodology for calculating reimbursements is illegal in its inclusion of costs associated with nonphysician practitioners. 

The highest paid anesthesiologist in Las Vegas earns $627,200 per year, according to Medscape's salary reporter tool, which is much higher than the mean annual wage of $302,970 anesthesiologists make according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For ASCs, providing anesthesia in 2023 was a huge obstacle amid provider shortages and declining reimbursements.   

During an interactive session at Becker's 29th Annual ASC Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, Peter H. Doerner, Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer for North American Partners in Anesthesia (NAPA), led a group of ASC healthcare leaders…

New York employs the most anesthesiologists of any state. 

The average annual salary for certified nurse anesthetists in the U.S. is $205,770. 

Shawna Alfano, MSN, RN, administrator and director of nursing of Walnut Creek, Calif.-based BASS Surgery Center, joined Becker's to discuss the biggest lesson her team learned this year. 

Anesthesiology specialists are grappling with increasingly stringent payer policies that have led to inconsistent reimbursement when treating chronic pain. As the costs associated with practicing medicine continue to rise and the cut to Medicare reimbursement looms, accurate coding is paramount…