Update on Medicare reimbursement for certified RN first assistants

AORN Journal, Feb, 2001 by Karen Sealander

Editor's note: Karen Sealander is legislative counsel in the Washington, DC, office of McDermott Will & Emery--the international law firm AORN employed in August 1999 to advance RN first assistant (RNFA) reimbursement. McDermott, Will & Emery has a significant lobbying presence in Washington, DC, and is one of the nation's 10 largest law firms. Sealander's presentation "AORN Can't Do It Alone: Be a Perioperative Grassroots Activist" of the 2000 AORN Congress provided a blueprint for individual participation in the political process. Sealander also presented at the AORN Leadership Conference in July 2000, and she will present at the 2001 Congress in Dallas. In this column, Sealander provides an update on AORN's Medicare reimbursement efforts for certified RNFAs.

The number one priority of AORN's federal and state legislative and regulatory efforts is to educate health policy makers about the vital role perioperative RNs play in surgical care. This education focus will buttress all of AORN's legislative and regulatory goals, including achieving Medicare reimbursement for the first assisting services of certified RN first assistants (CRNFAs). If policy makers understand the critical role of perioperative RNs, appropriate decisions about reimbursement, supervision, education, and other issues that shape perioperative nursing will follow.

REIMBURSEMENT FOR CRNFA LEGISLATION INTRODUCED

For more than a decade, AORN has sought Medicare reimbursement for RN first assistants (RNFAs) (Table 1). Last spring, legislation to achieve Medicare reimbursement--HR 3911, the Medicare Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant Direct Reimbursement Act of 2000--was introduced in the US House of Representatives by Rep Mac Collins (R-Ga). Reelected to a fifth term in November 2000, Rep Collins represents Georgia's third congressional district. In the 106th Congress, Rep Collins served on the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Budget Committee. He also served the Republican leadership in the 106th Congress as Deputy Majority Whip.