The Colorado Society of Anesthesiologists and the Colorado Medical Society have filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court aimed at stopping CRNAs from administering anesthesia in rural hospitals without physician supervision after the Colorado governor elected to opt out the state from this federal Medicare rule, according to a report by the Denver Post.
Colorado became the 16th state to opt out of the rule; the change allows nurses who have at least a master's degree in anesthesiology care to administer anesthesia.
Urban hospitals are not affected by Gov. Bill Ritter's decision to opt the state out of the rule as they typically have 24-hour access to anesthesiologists, according to the report.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists expressed its disappointment in Gov. Ritter's decision to exempt the state from the Medicare standard in a news release.
Read the Denver Post report about Colorado anesthesia.
Read more on the debate over appropriate anesthesia providers:
- New York Times Publishes Letters to the Editor Debating Who Should Provide Anesthesia Care
- ASA President Offers 6 Observations on Study of CRNAs as Sole Provider of Anesthesia Services
- ASA President Offers 7 Reasons to Question Anesthesia Cost-Containment Study