Lawmakers in Tennessee are once again pushing to expand the scope of responsibility for CAAs in the state amid an anesthesia provider shortage, according to an Oct. 10 report from WKRN.com.
In the last state legislative session, a senate bill that would have permitted CAAs to practice in the state died in committee.
Currently, 21 states permit CAAs to practice without physician supervision. Some advocates argue that expanding scope of practice would make care more expensive in the state and not address equity issues.
"It's not just surgeries that we’re talking about. It’s running the gamut of all of healthcare where we need anesthesia services and we just don’t have enough providers. [Allowing CAAs to practice] does give further reach. Instead of just a medical doctor of anesthesia doing one case, the CAA can cover, and the doctor can cover more patients with that," Shelley Courington with the Coalition for a Healthy and Responsible Tennessee told WKRN.
Advocates for CAA practice expansion believe the practitioners can decrease wait times for surgeries and other procedures where anesthesia is needed.
The bill to allow CAAs in Tennessee will be presented again this upcoming legislative session, which begins in Jan. 2025.