Nursing Community Unleashes Aggressive Anti-Physician, Scope of Practice Expansion Bill

On September 13, 2022, legislation was introduced to expand federal scope of practice to a full range of advanced practice registered nurses (APRN), including nurse anesthetists.  Advocates for the bill include the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the American Nurses Association and the AANA.  If enacted, the bill, H.R. 8812, the Increasing Access to Nurses (I CAN) Act, would grant full practice authority at the federal level to APRNs, including nurse anesthetists.  The “I CAN” Act compromises patient safety and needlessly places the lives of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries at risk. The legislation was introduced by longtime anti-physician Members of Congress, Representative David Joyce (R-OH-14) and Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-40) and is cosponsored by Adrian Smith (R-NE-3), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9) and Rodney Davis (R-IL-13).

ASA strongly opposes this legislation and will continue to work with Congress and CMS to preserve safe, high-quality, physician-led anesthesia care for Medicare patients.