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CANA Hosts Successful Lobby Day 2025

March 21, 2025

On March 11, 2025, CANA made history with our most successful and well-attended Lobby Day to date. CRNAs and nurse anesthesia residents from across the state gathered in Sacramento, demonstrating the strength of our profession and our unwavering commitment to the patients we serve.

We began the day by hearing from Assemblymember Heath Flora (R-Ripon), a steadfast advocate for protecting Californians’ ability to access timely and affordable anesthesia care. Assemblymember Flora’s dedication to our profession was made clear in his energizing and motivating remarks about his California Anesthesia Access Package (AB 876 and AB 1215), which helped set the tone for a powerful day of advocacy.

If you attended, you know that we hit the ground running, meeting with lawmakers and their staff to illustrate the essential role CRNAs play in California’s health care landscape. CANA members shared firsthand experiences of delivering care in rural communities, labor and delivery suites, military settings, and underserved areas—highlighting the direct impact CRNAs have on patient access to safe, cost-effective anesthesia care.

Members were also equipped with the following handouts:

  • Fast Facts re: California Anesthesia Access Package (AB 876 & AB 1215) – These bills codify existing statutes in one place to help prevent misinterpretations that continue to be exploited by special interests, which disrupts patient care and drives up health care costs.
  • Title 22 Reform – Timeline showing CANA’s 30+ years of advocacy to modernize outdated regulations that have led to confusion, unnecessary restrictions in hospitals, and barriers to care.
  • CRNAs as Key Players in Addressing California’s Opioid Crisis – Highlighted CRNAs’ expertise related to opioid-sparing anesthesia techniques and interventional pain management, reinforcing our role in reducing opioid exposure and improving patient outcomes.

Throughout the day CANA underscored that our advocacy is not just about our profession—it’s about ensuring every patient in California, regardless of location, has access to safe, high-quality anesthesia care; using the story of how the California Department of Public Health’s unjustified actions last year negatively impacted thousands of Medi-Cal and Medicare beneficiaries as an example, we made it clear that this issue cannot be ignored.

The response was overwhelmingly supportive.

Legislators and staff recognized the urgency of our priority issues, reinforcing that this effort is not just about CRNAs—it’s about doing what is right for California patients.

Thank you to everyone who attended any and all Lobby Day events, including those who ended the day with us at Smic’s for our CANA-hosted PAC networking reception.

Your voice matters, and your advocacy has an impact far beyond what you can see. With more than 3,000 CRNAs in California and growing, our strength lies in unity. One voice, one mission. Let’s keep this impressive momentum going.