[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5492 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5492
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for payment
for services of radiologist assistants under the Medicare program, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 11, 2024
Mr. Boozman (for himself and Mr. Lujan) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for payment
for services of radiologist assistants under the Medicare program, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Medicare Access to Radiology Care
Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Radiologist assistants are advanced-level radiographers
who are critically important members of the radiologist-led
team.
(2) Radiologist assistants work strictly under the
supervision of a radiologist to promote high standards of
patient care by assisting radiologists in the diagnostic and
interventional imaging environment.
(3) In every jurisdiction authorizing radiologists
assistants to practice, they are only permitted to furnish
services when delegated by and under the supervision of a
radiologist.
(4) Radiologist assistants value their working and
professional relationships with radiologists and have never
sought, nor do they seek, the ability to practice independent
of radiologists.
(5) While radiologist assistants perform various valuable
professional services and may make and communicate initial
observations to the radiologist, radiologist assistants are not
qualified to perform interpretations (preliminary, final, or
otherwise) of any radiological examination.
(6) Removing barriers to care rendered by radiologist
assistants under the supervision of a radiologist will provide
value-based, efficient solutions to improve patient outcomes
while ensuring patient safety.
SEC. 3. MEDICARE PAYMENT FOR RADIOLOGIST ASSISTANT SERVICES.
(a) Coverage.--Section 1861 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395x) is amended--
(1) in subsection (s)(2)(K)--
(A) in clause (ii), by striking the semicolon at
the end and inserting ``, and''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new clause:
``(iii) radiologist assistant services (as defined in
subsection (nnn)(1));''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(nnn) Radiologist Assistant Services; Radiologist Assistant.--
``(1) Radiologist assistant services.--The term
`radiologist assistant services' means--
``(A) services which would be physicians' services
if furnished by a physician (as defined in subsection
(r)(1)) and which are performed by a radiologist
assistant (as defined in paragraph (2)) under the
supervision of a radiologist;
``(B) services which the radiologist assistant is
legally authorized to perform by the State in which the
services are performed; and
``(C) such services and supplies furnished as an
incident to such services as would be covered under
subparagraph (A) if furnished incident to a physician's
professional service, but only if no facility or other
provider charges or is paid any amounts with respect to
the furnishing of such services.
``(2) Radiologist assistant.--The term `radiologist
assistant' means a radiographer who is certified by the
American Registry of Radiologic Technologists as a registered
radiologist assistant or by the Certification Board for
Radiology Practitioner Assistants as a radiology practitioner
assistant to perform radiologist assistant services.
``(3) Rules of construction.--Nothing in this subsection
shall be construed as affecting--
``(A) coverage of and payment for the technical
component (including the technical component of a
global fee) with respect to imaging services under this
title as in effect before the date of the enactment of
this subsection;
``(B) the amount of payment made for physicians'
services under this title when furnished solely by a
radiologist; or
``(C) the amount of payment made under this title
for services furnished by a covered facility setting
(as defined in section 1848(a)(10)(B)).''.
(b) Payment in Relation to Physician Fee Schedule.--
(1) Payment level.--Section 1833(a)(1)(O) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395l(a)(1)(O)) is amended by striking
``or clinical nurse specialists'' and inserting ``clinical
nurse specialists, or radiologist assistants''.
(2) Application of fee schedule in hospital, ambulatory
surgical center settings.--Section 1848(a) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-4(a)) is amended by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
``(10) Application of fee schedule for radiologist
assistant services in hospital, ambulatory surgical center
settings.--
``(A) In general.--In the case of radiologist
assistant services (as defined in section 1861(nnn)(1))
furnished in a covered facility setting (as defined in
subparagraph (B)), payment for such services furnished
in such setting shall be made to the supervising
radiologist in the amount determined pursuant to
section 1833(a)(1)(O).
``(B) Covered facility setting defined.--In this
paragraph, the term `covered facility setting' means--
``(i) a hospital or critical access
hospital;
``(ii) an ambulatory surgical center; and
``(iii) such other providers of services as
the Secretary may specify.''.
(3) Payment to supervising radiologist.--Section 1842(b)(6)
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395u(b)(6)) is amended
in the first sentence--
(A) by striking ``and'' before ``(J)''; and
(B) by inserting before the period at the end the
following: ``, and (K) in the case of services
described in section 1861(s)(2)(K)(iii) (relating to
radiologist assistant services), payment shall be made
to the supervising radiologist''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to services furnished on or after January 1, 2025.
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