TESTIMONY OF MARK BLAZEY, PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF NURSE ANESTHETISTS (NYSANA) BEFORE THE ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEES ON HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, HIGHER EDUCATION AND LABOR ON EXAMINING THE STATUS OF THE HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE IN NEW YORK STATE December 19, 2023

Assembly Health Committee Chair Paulin, Assembly Mental Health Chair Gunther, Assembly Committee on People with Disabilities Chair Seawright, Assembly Higher Education Committee Chair Fahy, Assembly Labor Committee Chair Joyner and members of the respective committees, I thank you for this opportunity to submit written testimony for your consideration as you look at the status of the health care workforce in New York State.

We're happy to announce that our President, Giovanna Mahar's, recent op-ed regarding Full Practice Authority in Veterans Healthcare was published in The Register Star, a daily newspaper published in Hudson, New York and covering all of Columbia County. 

"The current barrier to CRNA in the VA health system is an anti-competitive action recognized by the FTC, AMVETS, one of the largest veterans’ service organizations in the United States, and others. It is time to bust the healthcare monopoly within the VA and ensure our veterans have the care they need and deserve for their sacrifice and services."

Governor Cuomo has extended his Executive Order through April 20, 2021, allowing CRNAs to practice independently under the current State of Emergency as it relates to COVID-19.

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At President Trump’s direction, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today is issuing an unprecedented array of temporary regulatory waivers and new rules to equip the American healthcare system with maximum flexibility to respond to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. CMS sets and enforces essential quality and safety standards for the nation’s healthcare system, and is the nation’s largest health insurer serving more than 140 million Americans through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Federal Exchanges.

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