Oklahoma Senate Bill SB442

Oklahoma 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/25
• Refer: 2/4/25

Caption

Health care; authorizing Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist to provide interventional pain management services and operate certain facilities under specified conditions. Effective date.

Summary

SB 442 amends Oklahoma’s Interventional Pain Management and Treatment Act to revise definitions and expand who may provide certain interventional pain management services. The bill updates statutory language for chronic pain, fluoroscopy, and interventional pain management, and it expressly allows a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) with the required nursing license and a valid nonsurgical pain management certification to practice interventional pain management in limited circumstances. Under the bill, a qualifying CRNA could provide interventional pain management services other than surgical techniques, but only in collaboration with an allopathic or osteopathic physician and with timely on-site consultation available. The bill also permits such a CRNA to operate a freestanding pain management facility only in collaboration with a board-certified interventional pain management physician or equivalent. It preserves a prohibition on CRNAs performing procedural sedation and makes clear that the bill does not authorize CRNAs to prescribe or dispense opioids or other controlled dangerous substances for offsite chronic pain management.

Impact

The bill would amend 59 O.S. 2021, Section 650, which governs interventional pain management in Oklahoma, by adding CRNAs with specific certification to the list of professionals allowed to provide certain pain management services. It would also refine statutory definitions and update references and terminology in the existing law. The practical effect is to broaden access to some interventional pain procedures while keeping physician collaboration and supervision requirements in place, and while maintaining limits on sedation, surgery, and controlled-substance prescribing.

Sentiment

The available record suggests the bill was introduced as a health care scope-of-practice measure and was still early in the legislative process, having been referred to the Senate Health and Human Services committee after second reading. No committee transcript or vote record is available in the provided materials, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to measure. Based on the bill text, the proposal appears to be framed as a controlled expansion of CRNA practice rather than a wholesale deregulation of pain management services.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the expansion of CRNA authority into interventional pain management, especially the ability to perform non-surgical pain procedures and operate a freestanding pain management facility. Supporters would likely emphasize increased access to pain treatment and use of advanced nursing credentials, while opponents may focus on patient safety, physician oversight, and whether CRNAs should be allowed to perform these procedures without direct physician control. The bill’s explicit limits on surgical techniques, procedural sedation, and opioid prescribing suggest an attempt to address those concerns.