Ever since the 2018 New York State budget came out with language that proposed to lift physician supervision of nurse anesthetists and allow them to practice chronic pain management independently, the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists (NYSSA) has been holding its collective breath each January when new bills are introduced. The 2021 budget's proposed expansions of scope of practice included pharmacists and nurse practitioners, but not nurse anesthetists.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that the CRNA independent practice was not included, Governor Cuomo's fiscal year 2022 budget bill included proposals that, if passed, would be detrimental not only to anesthesiologists but to all New York physicians.
One such proposal was a 50% physician cost sharing of excess medical liability insurance. This program was created in the mid-1980s by New York State and allowed an additional layer of $1 million of coverage to be provided to physicians with hospital privileges who...
