Last month Governor Ritter exercised the option to exempt Colorado’s Critical Access Hospitals and rural hospitals from the Medicare requirement that certified registered nurse anesthetists be supervised by a physician, joining 15 other states that have already opted-out of the requirement. Both the Colorado Board of Nursing and the Colorado Medical Board voted on and supported the CRNA opt-out and a study found that opting out of the oversight requirement did not diminish quality of care or threaten patient safety. The Colorado Society of Anesthesiologists and the Colorado Medical Society filed suit to block Governor Ritter’s decision and this legal challenge is still pending.

CRHC thanks the many individuals and organizations who support this effort to improve access to healthcare in rural Colorado and have worked tirelessly toward the opt-out decision, including the Colorado Hospital Association and the Colorado Nurses Association. The Rural Voice will continue to update readers on this important issue.