Sponsors (2)
The bill expands supervised radiologist assistant roles to speed access and improve practice efficiency and regulatory clarity, at the cost of higher Medicare/taxpayer spending and increased patient confusion and administrative/billing complexity for providers and regulators.
Patients — especially Medicare beneficiaries and people with chronic conditions — gain faster access to imaging and related physician-level services because radiologist assistants (ARRT-certified) may perform delegated tasks under radiologist supervision, reducing delays and potentially improving outcomes.
Hospitals, radiology practices, and supervising radiologists can increase team capacity and workflow efficiency and obtain physician-fee-schedule payment for delegated services, improving practice revenue and use of clinician time.
CMS and states get clearer, standardized credentialing criteria by recognizing ARRT-certified radiologist assistants, reducing regulatory ambiguity about who qualifies to perform delegated imaging tasks.
Taxpayers and the Medicare program will incur higher spending because expanded Medicare payments will cover services furnished by radiologist assistants under supervision.
Patients (including Medicare beneficiaries and people with chronic conditions) may be confused about who provided and interpreted imaging and face variable scopes of care, because RAs make initial observations but are not authorized to give final interpretations and state law determines RA authorization.
Radiology facilities and state regulators may face increased administrative, supervision, and billing complexity — requiring oversight resources, changes to supervision arrangements, and potentially complicating facility revenue allocation when supervising radiologists bill under the physician fee schedule.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Adds Medicare coverage and payment treatment for certified radiologist assistant services under radiologist supervision, payable to the supervising radiologist in facility settings.
Official title: 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.
Introduced May 21, 2026 by John Boozman · Last progress May 21, 2026
Creates Medicare coverage and payment rules for services performed by certified radiologist assistants (advanced radiographers who work under a supervising radiologist). It treats qualifying radiologist assistant services as physicians' services for Medicare purposes, requires payment to the supervising radiologist under the physician fee schedule when services are furnished in specified facility settings, and preserves existing rules for technical imaging payments and radiologists who personally perform services. The changes apply to services furnished on or after January 1, 2027.