10 numbers making anesthesia providers nervous

From provider shortages to declining reimbursements, here are 10 numbers making anesthesia providers nervous:

8.2%. The percentage that CMS anesthesia reimbursements declined from 2019 to 2024 — from $22.27 per unit to $20.44, VMG Health said in a May blog post.

85%. The percentage by which Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield’s health plans in Ohio, Missouri, Connecticut, New York and Maine will reduce QZ services performed by CRNAs beginning Nov. 1.

26%. The percent increase in average price when anesthesia companies, backed by private-equity investors, took over a hospital outpatient or ASC compared with independent practices, according to a 2022 JAMA study.

2.81%. The annual decrease in inflation-adjusted Medicare reimbursement for the selected pain management procedures in the last 23 years, according to a February report from American Association of Physician Leadership.

Nearly 30%. The percentage of anesthesiologists that are predicted to leave the practice by 2033, according to a 2023 white paper from Medicus Healthcare Solutions.

More than 56%. The percentage of anesthesiologists that are over 55, according to Medicus.

More than 17%. The percentage of anesthesiologists that are nearing retirement, according to Medicus.

More than 2,872. The number of anesthesiologists that left the workforce from 2021 to 2022, according to a report from Definitive Healthcare.

46%. The percentage of the 1,353 medical students seeking an anesthesiology residency in 2023 that did not match.

More than 50%. The percentage of anesthesiologists that said they felt burnt out or both burnt out and depressed, according to a 2024 Medscape survey. This is a slight increase from last year’s survey, when 47% of anesthesiologists reported being burned out.