News — Rosemont, Ill – The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) filed its response to the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ (ASA) motion seeking leave to file an unrequested amicus curiae brief. An amicus curiae brief is a written submission typically by an organization not a party to a case.
AANA’s complaint seeks to compel the government to fulfill its duties to enforce the provider nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). AANA’s membership are facing discrimination from insurers and health plans based solely upon their license, which violates ACA. Meanwhile, the ASA submitted a brief that does nothing to advance the ongoing litigation and current issues before the court.
“ASA’s brief does nothing to advance the issues before the court and put forth an interpretation that is absurd,” said AANA President Jan Setnor, MSN, CRNA, Col. (Ret), USAFR, NC. “It’s disappointing to see our physician colleagues encouraging discrimination between healthcare professionals, instead of advocating for access to quality health care.”
Further, ASA’s brief aims to maintain a petty turf war the ASA has initiated against AANA over anesthesia care by advancing its baseless claims that physician anesthesia providers provide superior services to nurse anesthesia providers. ASA, however, provided no studies, exhibits, or cited any evidence to support its claims of superiority. It is also important to note that ASA did not provide any response to AANA’s assertion that there are no educational differences between nurse and physician anesthesia providers that relate to the safe administration of anesthesia. AANA filed its response with the court earlier today to correct the record.
“Ultimately, we are working on behalf of our members to improve access to care for our patients and to fight discrimination against our membership,” said Setnor. “We remain confident that our assessment of the law is correct, that enforcing the provider nondiscrimination provision is important, and look forward to the court’s decision.”
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are anesthesia professionals who safely administer more than 58 million anesthetics to patients each year in the United States. CRNAs practice in every setting in which anesthesia is delivered: traditional hospital surgical suites and obstetrical delivery rooms; critical access hospitals; ambulatory surgical centers; ketamine clinics; the offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, plastic surgeons, and pain management specialists; and U.S. military, Public Health Services, and Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare facilities.
AANA is a professional association of 65,000 CRNA members. AANA’s advocacy is rooted in celebrating the quality of anesthesia care available, increasing the public’s confidence in that, and ensuring meaningful access to care.
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