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Senate committee advances bill to equalize insurer reimbursement for CRNAs working within lawful scope
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Summary
Senate Bill 275 would require insurers to reimburse Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) at least as much as physicians for the same service when CRNAs personally perform care, and would bar exclusion from networks solely for being a CRNA. Committee adopted clarifying amendments and reported the bill as amended.
Senate Bill 275, sponsored in committee on March 25, 2026, seeks parity in insurer reimbursement for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists when they personally perform services within their lawful scope. The bill also prevents insurers from denying network inclusion solely because a provider is a CRNA.
Sponsor testimony and a committee amendment (set 11-50) clarified that parity applies when CRNAs perform services without medical direction and that the reimbursement comparison uses the billing treatment under applicable Medicare Part B rules for physicians or dentists. The amendment also explicitly states the bill does not expand or limit any provider's scope of practice.
Colby Lafleur of the Louisiana Association of Nurse Anesthetists testified that CRNAs deliver the majority of rural anesthesia care and estimated they are sole providers in approximately 26'27 parishes. Committee members said the bill was intended in part to support access to anesthesia in rural community hospitals. Senator Barrow moved to report SB 275 as amended; the motion passed by voice consent.
Next steps: SB 275 was reported as amended and will move forward in the legislative process.
