To pay a nurse near $150k and the ghost doctor another $500k to do the same task is just an example of how the medical community is pilfering.” Though a few states allow nurse-anesthetists to practice independently, anesthesia societies have fought vigorously to prevent that, citing safety, of course. In 2000 a press release from the American Society of Anesthesiologists targeting members of Congress ominously declared that “seniors will die” if nurse-anesthetists are not supervised by anesthesiologists.
