This bill directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to update VHA Directive 1123 so that certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) are recognized in the Veterans Health Administration as licensed independent practitioners consistent with certain Defense Health Agency standards. It requires anesthesia providers employed by the VA to hold specified certifications (physician anesthesiologists certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology or similar; CRNAs certified by the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists, the Council on Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists, or a similar body). The bill requires each anesthesia professional to have completed at least 25 hours of direct patient anesthesia care (supervision time does not count). Providers who do not meet these requirements must be suspended from VA employment. The bill also requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to report within one year and annually after on outcomes and cost-effectiveness for three anesthesia delivery models: delivery by an anesthesiologist; delivery by a CRNA under physician supervision; and delivery by a CRNA without supervision. The GAO report must include estimated costs to VA facilities and taxpayers and a breakdown of costs and savings to taxpayers and veterans' households.
The bill does not set funding amounts. No publicly available information on direct federal costs or savings. The bill requires the GAO to estimate costs and compare cost-effectiveness of the anesthesia delivery models in its report.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.