With the 2014 general elections behind us, we can now examine the aftermath of state campaigns and who was elected to state office. These political outcomes will shape the legislative and regulatory landscape for years to come and will impact state issues important to patient safety and the practice of anesthesiology.
Governors have the ability to single-handedly opt out of Medicare’s physician supervision of anesthesia requirement. It is essential to build strong relationships with governors and let them know how patients benefit from having a physician lead the anesthesia care team. Through the ASA Political Action Committee (ASAPAC), ASA belongs to the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), which represented 21 Democratic governors before the November 4 elections, and the Republican Governors Association (RGA), which represented the 29 Republican governors.
This year, there were 36 gubernatorial races in play. At the time of this writing, after all the new governors who were...
