Bill
SB 1482
Establishes licensure and supervision rules for certified anesthesiologist assistants to provide anesthesia services under anesthesiologist supervision, with a 2030 sunset.
Status / procedural highlights
- Bill short title: Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant Practice Act (SB 1482). Introduced 1/31/2025 (sponsor: Sen. Cristina Castro). Chief co‑sponsor added: Sen. Christopher Belt (3/4/2025).
- Referred to committees (Health Policy; Judiciary; Fiscal Policy / Department of Financial and Professional Regulation matters). Public hearing held 3/11/2025; a joint favorable substitute was filed 3/19/2025.
- Related/companion bills: HB 2951 and HB 1163.
- The bill, as drafted, would be subject to the Regulatory Sunset Act and is scheduled for automatic repeal on January 1, 2030 (i.e., a 5‑year sunset).
Purpose / intent
- Establishes a regulatory framework to license and govern “certified anesthesiologist assistants” (CAAs) in the state, with the stated purpose of enabling anesthesiologists to delegate certain anesthesia‑related medical care to qualified assistants while protecting patient safety.
Key provisions and changes
- New statute: Creates the Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant Practice Act and adds definitions (e.g., “certified anesthesiologist assistant,” “anesthesiologist,” “supervision,” “address of record”).
- Licensure and oversight: Authorizes the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to license CAAs, adopt rules, prescribe forms, conduct examinations, and pursue investigations and disciplinary actions (revocation, suspension, probation, reprimand).
- Qualifications and application: Establishes application processes, qualifications for initial licensure, endorsement (licensure by reciprocity) from other jurisdictions, and criminal history/background checks.
- Supervision and scope: Defines “supervision” to require physical proximity that permits the supervising anesthesiologist to return and reestablish direct contact with the patient to address urgent or emergent problems while CAAs are rendering services. Provides that licensed CAAs may assist licensed physicians, dentists, or podiatrists and, when granted appropriate clinical privileges at a hospital, may administer anesthesia services under anesthesiologist supervision.
- Delegation/authority: Explicitly provides for delegation of authority from an anesthesiologist to a CAA and clarifies that the Act does not preclude CAAs from performing specified actions within the delegated scope.
- Health care facility rules: Amends related statutes (Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Center Act; Hospital Licensing Act) to recognize CAAs in facility staffing/privilege contexts.
- Medical board representation: Adds one licensed CAA as a member of the Illinois State Medical Board (Medical Practice Act amendments).
- Professional conduct and consumer protection: Limits use of the title “doctor” by CAAs in clinical settings; requires licensees to list titles correctly in advertising and billing; requires address/email of record and timely updates.
- Sunset: The Act is scheduled for repeal on January 1, 2030 under the Regulatory Sunset Act unless reauthorized.
Who is affected
- Primary: Certified anesthesiologist assistants (current and prospective), anesthesiologists (supervisors), hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers (privileging/credentialing), dentists/podiatrists who use anesthesia services, educational programs training CAAs.
- Secondary: Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (licensing/enforcement workload), Illinois State Medical Board (membership change), patients (access to anesthesia services; oversight/safety protections).
Potential impacts / considerations
- Workforce: Establishes a formal licensure pathway for CAAs, which could expand supervised anesthesia workforce capacity in hospitals and ambulatory centers.
- Regulatory compliance: Creates new licensure, privileging, supervision and recordkeeping requirements for facilities and supervising anesthesiologists.
- Oversight costs: Implementation will impose administrative duties on IDFPR and may require rulemaking; fiscal effects depend on fee structure and volume of applicants.
- Patient safety & liability: The bill frames supervision standards (physical proximity) and sets disciplinary enforcement mechanisms to address competence and misconduct.
- Temporary/experimental period: The 2030 sunset requires reassessment of the statutory framework within five years of enactment.
Note on source material
- The file provided contains multiple state excerpts (including an Arizona appropriation bill and a Hawaii CDL amendment). This summary focuses on the SB 1482 Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant Practice Act text and associated procedural entries included in the packet.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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