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AI-curated coverage of legislation, workforce trends, compensation shifts, CMS policy, practice-authority moves, and CAA expansion. Filtered for CRNA + CAA relevance — not generic healthcare news.
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Mayor Muriel Bowser approved D.C.'s opt-out of the Medicare physician supervision requirement for CRNAs after consulting the D.C. Boards of Medicine and Nursing, making D.C. the 28th jurisdiction to opt out. The letter cited the Health Occupations Revision General Amendment Act of 2024.
In September 1, 2026 comments, AANA objected to proposed CY 2027 anesthesia conversion factors of $20.4165 for qualifying APM participants (down 0.89%) and $20.2143 for non-qualifying providers (down 1.38%), noting the qualifying APM anesthesia factor has fallen 8.3% since 2019. AANA urged CMS to work with Congress on long-term Medicare payment reform and expand CRNA access to Alternative Payment Models.
Medicus Healthcare Solutions' 2026 anesthesia workforce report projects a 3,720 FTE anesthesiologist shortfall in 2026 and a 3,140 FTE CRNA shortfall in metropolitan areas. It reports 42.2% of anesthesiologists plan to leave their positions within two years and projects 26.6% employment growth for certified anesthesiologist assistants over the next decade.
AANA named Tracy Young, MSNA, MBA, CRNA, its 2026-27 president. Young is co-founder and COO of Essential Anesthesia Management, previously served as AANA president-elect and Region 7 director, and served two terms as president of the Louisiana Association of Nurse Anesthesiology.
On July 21, 2026 the Sixth Circuit upheld dismissal of AANA's suit seeking to compel HHS to enforce the ACA's provider nondiscrimination provision against insurers that pay CRNAs less than anesthesiologists, finding AANA lacked standing because insurers, not HHS, set rates. AANA called the ruling procedural and said it will pursue state and other federal avenues.
CMS released the CY 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule on July 14, 2026. The general conversion factor would fall 1.19% for qualifying APM participants and 1.68% for non-qualifying clinicians, largely because the one-year 2.5% increase for CY 2026 does not carry forward. Comments were due September 14, 2026; final rates arrive with the final rule.
Gov. Mike DeWine sent Ohio's opt-out letter to CMS on July 10, 2026, making Ohio the 27th state to opt out of the Medicare physician supervision requirement. The opt-out follows House Bill 52, which replaced Ohio's supervision standard with a collaboration model effective June 2026.
Gov. Phil Scott signed a letter to CMS on July 2, 2026 opting Vermont out of the federal physician supervision requirement for CRNAs, making Vermont the 26th state to opt out and the third in New England.
NBCRNA changed the passing standard for the National Certification Examination effective July 1, 2026, following a routine standard-setting review. Exam content and format are unchanged.
After a federal judge stayed the Education Department's new professional-degree definition on June 24, 2026, the department published an interim list that includes the MSN, DNP, and DNAP as professional degrees for loan-limit purposes; the nursing PhD was left off. The department said the interim designations may change as litigation continues.
APEX Anesthesia's 2026 CRNA compensation survey of 634 respondents found 77% received a raise in the prior year, while most said they would consider moving for the right offer — a signal of continued leverage for CRNAs in a tight market.
At its June 3, 2026 decision date, the Council on Accreditation granted initial accreditation to nurse anesthesia programs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (Jackson, Miss.) and the University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio, Texas), finding both in compliance with Practice Doctorate standards.
Lipscomb University in Nashville accepted 24 students from more than 300 applicants for its new Master of Science in Anesthesiology program starting August 2026, following Tennessee's CAA licensure beginning January 2026. The 28-month program requires 2,200–2,500 clinical hours across at least 650 cases.
Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced the Nursing is a Professional Degree Act, which would let post-baccalaureate nursing students borrow up to $50,000 per year and $200,000 total, versus the current $20,500 annual and $100,000 aggregate caps. AANA is among the supporting organizations.
BagMask.com's Q1 2026 report found advertised maximum base pay for certified anesthesiologist assistants broke the prior $330,000 ceiling, led by Texas at $350,000, Georgia at $340,000, and Wisconsin at $330,000. Figures reflect advertised base salary only, excluding call pay and bonuses.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, released May 15, 2026, report 51,840 employed nurse anesthetists with a mean annual wage of $248,320 ($119.38/hour) — the highest-paying healthcare practitioner occupation outside physicians, surgeons, and dentists.
The Department of Education's April 30, 2026 RISE final rule did not classify post-baccalaureate nursing degrees as professional degrees for federal student loan purposes, leaving graduate nursing students — including nurse anesthesia students — under lower graduate borrowing limits. Nursing and anesthesia organizations opposed the decision.
The FTC announced April 23, 2026 a settlement in principle with U.S. Anesthesia Partners in its 2023 case alleging a decade-long roll-up of Texas anesthesia practices. Terms remain confidential during implementation, and the FTC said it will return to court if USAP does not carry them out. A federal court stayed the case in May while the settlement is finalized; a private patient class action continues.
HF 4460 would create a licensure framework for certified anesthesiologist assistants in Minnesota. The House Health Finance and Policy Committee held an informational hearing April 13, 2026 but took no action. The Minnesota Medical Association, AAAA, and ASA supported the bill; AANA opposed it.
AANA Annual Congress 2026 lands in Boston — the birthplace of modern anesthesia — and runs August 21–25 with hybrid online access. Marquee sessions include the Anesthesia College Bowl, a Hackathon, and Party With a Purpose at Fenway. Registration is open; CE credit accumulation is the largest single event most CRNAs hit each year.
A Brookings databook on NSA arbitration shows providers prevailing in ~80% of IDR cases, with median awards 3.72x the qualifying payment amount, 2.04x median in-network rates, and 4.5x Medicare. In December, 33 NorthStar Anesthesia providers sued Aetna and Cigna for $4.1M in alleged unpaid IDR awards — a case that will test enforcement teeth in the post-implementation phase.
Maryland HB 1558 (cross-filed SB 951) would have established licensure of anesthesiologist assistants under the State Board of Physicians. The House Health Committee heard it March 18, 2026, with support from the Maryland Society of Anesthesiologists and MedStar Health and opposition from the Board of Physicians; no further action followed.
Florida HB 375, which would have allowed qualified CRNAs to practice autonomously, passed the House 78-28 on February 4, 2026 but died in the Senate Rules Committee on March 13. Its Senate companion, SB 462, died in the Health Policy Committee the same day.
Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 52 on March 10, 2026, replacing the requirement that CRNAs work under physician, dentist, or podiatrist supervision with a collaboration model. ASA noted the law retains safeguards, including physical presence of the collaborating practitioner during induction, maintenance, and emergence of general anesthesia, and patient disclosure of who will provide anesthesia.
March 2026 market data pegs the average locum CRNA hourly rate near $200 — roughly $416K annualized at 40 hours/week, with top markets (DC, NY, MA, AK) clearing that bar. Locum CRNAs continue to earn 30–50% above W-2 staff peers, but carry their own health, disability, and malpractice costs that erode the spread. Individual locum advanced-practice anesthesia placements have been listed up to $662K annually.
Stout's industry update characterizes the anesthesiologist + CRNA staffing market as structurally constrained: retirements are accelerating, residency/CRNA program seats are bottlenecked, and demand from outpatient and ASC growth is rising. Average CRNA compensation moved from ~$181K (2019) to ~$232K (2024), a 28% climb largely driven by competition for scarce labor.
Marit Health's April 2026 dataset (492 reported salaries) shows average CRNA total compensation at $276,434 — base of $259,708, with 32% reporting overtime/leadership stipends averaging $11,457 and 31% receiving bonuses averaging $5,269. Top 25% earn $305K+; 95th percentile crosses $400K. The Southwest leads regional comp at $300K total / $280K base.
Subsidy budgets jumped roughly 16% in 2025 and 2026 looks more bifurcated. Roughly 20–25% of subsidy contracts may shrink as IDR awards, employed-physician models, and MSO/PSA structures pull dollars back. The cost of hiring an anesthesiologist has risen 20–40% since 2022 — the case for a stipend is easier to make, but hospitals are demanding hard productivity and quality metrics in return.
NJANA continues a multi-year campaign to repeal NJ's joint-protocol rule, the last major regulatory barrier separating Garden State CRNAs from full practice authority. The rule requires a written protocol jointly authored with a physician for anesthesia services — an arrangement most opt-out states abandoned a decade ago.
Filed for the 2026 Florida legislative session, HB 375 would allow qualified CRNAs to practice independently without physician oversight — a significant departure from the current collaborative-protocol regime. Florida is one of the most consequential states still in the partial-authority bucket; passage would push the count of fully-autonomous CRNA states past 24.
In January 2026, the FTC announced a settlement with Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe over allegations its USAP portfolio company executed an anticompetitive Texas roll-up. Welsh Carson must obtain FTC approval before any future anesthesia investment nationally and before any controlled anesthesia business acquires within the same MSA. The settlement signals continued antitrust scrutiny of PE in anesthesia even under a second Trump administration.
There are roughly 67,700 practicing CRNAs in the U.S., with BLS projecting 38% growth through 2032 — but only ~2,400 graduates per year from 150+ accredited programs, barely covering attrition. Modeling points to a 12,500-CRNA shortage (~22% of current workforce) by 2033 unless training capacity expands materially. Rural and full-practice-authority markets feel the gap first.
Gov. Bill Lee signed Tennessee's CAA licensure law in May 2025, with full requirements taking effect January 1, 2026. Tennessee joins ~24 jurisdictions where CAAs may practice and becomes the first new state to authorize CAA licensure since Virginia's 2025 law. Lipscomb University's in-state CAA program is timed to feed the new licensure pathway.
Kansas City University will open a master's program for Certified Anesthesiologist Assistants in January 2026, and Lipscomb University is preparing to launch a CAA program in Tennessee — the first in-state pipeline tied to TN's new licensure law. Program expansion is the rate-limiting step for CAA workforce growth; both schools meaningfully widen the funnel.
The 2026 ASA Practice Guideline on Perioperative Pain Management strongly recommends fascial plane blocks for open cardiothoracic, abdominal, retroperitoneal, pelvic surgeries, and mastectomy in adults; conditional recommendations cover MIS cardiothoracic and open hernia repair. Pediatric guidance strongly endorses fascial plane blocks for open cardiac and thoracic procedures. Expect downstream impact on ERAS protocols and opioid-sparing pathways.
CMS released the CY 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule on October 31, 2025. The anesthesia conversion factor rises 0.88% to $20.4976 for most providers; QPP-qualifying APM participants get $20.5998 (+1.39%). The OBBBA's 2.5% bump was largely offset by methodology cuts including a 2.3% across-the-board reduction for practice expense and malpractice. Facility-based services drop 7%; non-facility settings rise 4%.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists publicly criticized the CY 2026 final rule, arguing CMS's methodology changes erased most of the OBBBA-mandated 2.5% increase and made meaningful Quality Payment Program participation harder for anesthesia groups. ASA is pursuing legislative and administrative remedies through 2026.
The 2024 multi-society update (ASA, AGA, ASGE, ASMBS, IARS, SAMBA) eased the prior recommendation to hold GLP-1s before surgery: most patients may continue their drug; only those at highest aspiration risk should follow a 24-hour clear-liquid diet, with point-of-care gastric ultrasound recommended pre-induction. A 2026 review of the guidance is on the calendar as evidence on dose-phase risk matures.
CRNAs already provide 80%+ of rural-county anesthesia and over two-thirds of rural hospitals rely on them exclusively — yet coverage is contracting as providers exit and replacements lag. The 2026 anesthesiologist shortage is projected at 6,300 nationally; the rural impact is disproportionate, hitting critical-access hospitals and small ASCs hardest.
Reps. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) and Jen Kiggans (R-VA) introduced legislation to grant the ~1,100 CRNAs in the VA system full practice authority. The VA's 2016 APRN rule pointedly excluded CRNAs; AANA has pressed VA Secretary Doug Collins for inclusion in any future rulemaking. The bill is the most concrete federal practice-authority vehicle CRNAs have had in years.
Illinois SB 1482 would create a comprehensive Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant Practice Act — master's degree, department-approved exam, and a written supervision agreement with an anesthesiologist defining scope. AANA's Illinois affiliate is opposing as written; AAAA is lobbying for passage. The bill is the most procedurally advanced CAA legislation in the Midwest.
Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens (D-Silicon Valley) introduced AB 985 to authorize Certified Anesthesiologist Assistants in California under a strict ACT model — anesthesiologist must be physically present and immediately available to supervise. California is the largest unlicensed-CAA market in the country; passage would meaningfully reshape the West Coast staffing picture.
Effective August 1, 2025, the Maintenance of Anesthesia Certification (MAC) Program replaced CPC. Core Modules are gone; quarterly MAC Check assessments replace the CPCA exam. Total cost drops to $445 every four years (~$111/yr — about $72/yr cheaper than CPC). CRNAs in the 2026/2027 renewal cohorts may still need to finish CPC obligations under transition rules.
Virginia's 2025 AA licensure law puts the Commonwealth in the licensure column alongside ~20 other states. VCU's College of Health Professions has been a key institutional voice on the rollout, framing the law as a workforce-access measure rather than a CRNA-vs-CAA scope battle.
Stories are pulled from state legislative trackers, AANA + AAAA government affairs feeds, CMS releases, peer-reviewed workforce research, healthcare trade press, and major news outlets. Items are summarized by AI but selected for CRNA + CAA relevance — generic healthcare news is filtered out. Each item links to its primary source so you can verify and read in full. We do not sponsor or accept paid placements in the news feed. Read the full editorial policy →