ASA's Office of Governmental and Legal Affairs is located in Washington, D.C. It monitors and engages in advocacy with respect to federal and state legislative and regulatory activities affecting the practice of medicine by the Society's members. Further, it is responsible for providing Practice Management assistance and advice for the membership, principally with respect to the Medicare program but also with respect to all "business" aspects of the delivery of anesthesia care. The American Society of Anesthesiologists Political Action Committee (ASAPAC), a separate segregated fund of the Society, is also administered in the Washington Office, as are the Society's internal legal affairs and maintenance of relations with outside legal counsel.
With the exception of federal regulatory materials related to Medicare reimbursement, materials related to federal and state legislation and regulations can be found on this site and are listed on the Index. Regulatory materials related to Medicare reimbursement can be found and are indexed on the Practice Management site.

11-12-08 Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) releases plan for health reform 10-31-08 2009 Physician Fee Schedule includes payment increase for anesthesiology 10-15-08 ASA submits comments to CMS regarding transition to Version 5010 and ICD-10 10-10-08 UPDATE: S. 2162 becomes law, includes important veterans pain care provisions 09-25-08 UPDATE: Pain bills pass House 07-15-08 VICTORY: Medicare bill becomes law! H.R. 6331 includes SGR fix, Teaching Rule reform 06-09-08 Key Legislative Issues 06-05-08 U.S. Senate passes Pain Care Coalition (PCC)-backed “Veterans Mental Health Improvements Act”   ASA-supported legislation H.R. 2053: Teaching Rule (House Version) - Bill Language - Co-Sponsors S. 2056: Teaching Rule (Senate version) - Bill Language - Co-Sponsors H.R. 1866: Rural Pass-through Contact your Representative supporting H.R. 1866! - Bill Language - Co-Sponsors H.R. 2260: Healthcare Truth and Transparency Contact your Representative supporting H.R. 2260! - Bill Language - Co-Sponsors H.R. 2994: National Pain Care Policy Act - Bill Language - Pain Care Coalition press release - Co-Sponsors

Personnel of the Washington Office include:

ASA Washington Office
1501 M Street, N.W.
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005
Telephone: (202) 289-2222
Fax: (202)371-0384
E-mail: mail@asawash.org

Federal Legislative and Regulatory Activities

• Lansdale Public Policy Fellowship
  
  
• ASA Legislative Conference
  
  
• Washington Reports
  
  
• Position Papers
  
  
• Medicare Claims Processing Manual
  
  
• CMS Supervision Rules for Nurse Anesthetists
  

State Legislative and Regulatory Activities

• State Governmental Affairs Handbook
  
  
• The Scope of Practice of Nurse Anesthetists (pdf file)
  
  
• Listing of Professional Liability Insurance Companies (Members Only)
  
  
• Summary of 2005 State Legislative and Regulatory Activities

Legal Information and Resources

• ASA Antitrust Statement
  
  
• ASA Copyright Policy
  
  
• License Information for CROSSWALK®, Reverse CROSSWALK, and Relative Value Guide ®
  

Office-Based Anesthesia

• ASA Office-Based Anesthesia Guidelines
  
  
• State Statutes, Regulations and Guidelines
  
  
• AMA Core Principles for Office-Based Surgery

ASAPAC - ASA Political Action Committee (Members only)