WASHINGTON -- Medicare would allow for the designation of radiologist assistants as "non-physician providers" under bipartisan legislation filed Tuesday, making it easier for doctors to use the services of these highly trained health professionals.
The Medicare Access to Radiology Care Act of 2016 is sponsored by Republican U.S. Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas and Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.
Supporters say the legislation would increase efficiency and lower the cost for patients and their insurers.
At a Capitol Hill news conference Tuesday morning, Boozman and a group of Arkansas radiologists said the legislation is needed.
"You know something's good when everybody is in agreement on the provider side. That is a rarity," said Boozman of Rogers.
A House version of the legislation was filed in February and is co-sponsored by 25 lawmakers, including the four members from Arkansas.
"It'll allow radiologists to see more patients, see them in a more efficient way and, ultimately, it's going to be a cost saver," Boozman said.
The measure enjoys widespread support from medical professionals at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and elsewhere.
Dozens of health care groups have called for the radiology assistants' role to be recognized, including the American College of Radiology, the American Society of Radiology Technologists, Mercy Hospital in Rogers and the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will only reimburse for a radiology assistant's services if a doctor has provided "personal supervision." In other words, the radiologist must be physically in the procedure room while the assistant completes the work.
The bill's advocates argue that it's sufficient for a doctor to be in the building, providing "direct supervision" and offering advice as needed. Most states do not require personal supervision.
Just over a decade ago, schools across the country, including UAMS, began offering radiology assistant programs.
The extra schooling gives radiology assistants more advanced training than radiology technologists, enabling them to complete some tasks that had previously been handled by radiologists.
Dr. Scott Harter, chief of radiology for Baptist Health, says radiology assistant programs were launched with the expectation that Medicare would treat them like other "physician extenders," such as physicians' assistants and nurse practitioners.
But so far, Medicare hasn't treated them as analogous.
"Medicare looks at one of these radiology assistants as if they were still at that radiology technologist level. ... Their skill level is advanced beyond that, considerably advanced," Harter said.
The radiology assistants have an impressive "level of understanding and technical expertise and efficiency," he said. "They're not going to be running off willy-nilly doing things they shouldn't. I can come to the room if need be in just a few steps, but I don't have to be looking over their shoulder. That's babysitting they don't need. They're far beyond that."
Typically, Medicare's billing rates for physician extenders are beneath those for physicians, potentially leading to future cost savings.
If the Medicare program continues to undervalue the services of radiology assistants, there will be consequences for the educational institutions and their graduates, Harter predicted.
"Without that recognition, these individuals are going to lose their jobs and the programs are going to fold. They're going to shut down. Some of them already have," he said.
Metro on 05/18/2016