WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Anesthesiology Resource Committee (NARC) scored a major legislative victory on behalf of all anesthesiology providers today. As part of House Appropriations Bill 158 Section 11 Subsection 8, anesthesia providers will be able to bill for table changes during cases.
NARC President Edward Chung said, “We’ve scored a major victory on behalf of anesthesiologists everywhere. This new bill should cut down on the number of unnecessary and disruptive table changes during cases. Many anesthesia providers have been rudely interrupted from catching Pokémon, dominating Sudoku, or setting high scores in Candy Crush by a surgeon barking for unnecessary table changes.”
The bill faced initial opposition from budget hawks who wanted a revenue neutral proposal. Ultimately it was decided that any additional charges for table height changes will be taken from the surgeon’s global case fee. In response, many surgical groups have vowed to accelerate their replacement of anesthesiologists with voice-activated operating room tables.
Nursing leaders are hoping to piggyback off this victory by starting a nationwide grassroots effort for nurses to be paid a nickel every time the surgeon asks, “Is the Bovie on?” or says, “The suction isn’t working.”
