Addressing Provider Shortages in Rural America: The Role of State Opt-Out Policy Adoptions in Promoting Hospital Anesthesia Provision.

Given that we found no evidence that being in an opt-out state increases the odds of using CRNAs in hospitals, we contribute to the growing literature suggesting that states adopting the opt-out policy have not realized increased health care access or reduced health care costs. As a result of other contextual restrictions on hospitals' decision-making, simply adopting the opt-out policy has not been enough to address anesthesia provider shortages.