A bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives that would permit rural hospitals to utilize Medicare funding to hire physician anesthesiologists.
The Medicare Access to Rural Anesthesiology Act was introduced by Reps. Jared Huffman and John Moolenaar, according to a July 14 news release from Mr. Huffman’s office.
Here are five more things to know about the bill:
- Currently, rural hospitals can only use Medicare funds to hire certified registered anesthesiologist assistants or nurse anesthetists.
- The bill would extend the same reasonable cost basis reimbursement under Medicare Part A to physician anesthesiologists at qualifying facilities.
- To be eligible, a hospital must perform fewer than 800 surgical procedures requiring anesthesia annually. Hospitals must also employ or contract with no more than one full-time equivalent anesthesiologist.
- Participating anesthesiologists would be barred from also billing under Medicare Part B for services at the same facility to prevent double billing.
- The changes would take effect one year after enactment.