Bills ranging from scope of practice to network adequacy are being debated in the halls of statehouses throughout the country. You may not see your state listed, but be prepared, because it might be soon.
Scope of Practice
Georgia
would allow advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and physician assistants (PAs) to order home healthcare services.
Kentucky
would add the chair of the Physician Assistant Advisory Committee to the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure as an ex officio nonvoting member.
Missouri
would mandate that healthcare practitioners use appropriate titles and abbreviations. For example, only physicians could use the titles physician, medical doctor, “MD” or “DO.”
Hawaii
would allow pharmacists to order and administer immunizations and vaccinations to children three years of age and older.
Rhode Island
would enjoin the state of Rhode Island into the PA compact. This compact allows PAs who meet its eligibility requirements to practice in other compact states.
Tennessee
would enjoin Tennessee into the PA compact.
Loan Repayment
Iowa
and would allow radiologists to participate in the rural Iowa primary care loan repayment program. This program is administered by the College Student Aid Commission and provides loan repayments for medical students who agree to practice as physicians in service commitment areas for five consecutive years after graduating from a residency program and receiving a permanent license to practice medicine in Iowa.
Network Adequacy
Illinois
would permit the Illinois Department of Insurance to determine whether the network plan at each in-network hospital and facility has a sufficient number of hospital-based medical specialists to ensure that covered persons have reasonable and timely access to such in-network physicians and the services they direct or supervise. Hospital-based medical specialists are defined as “physicians working in specialties that are usually located at in-network hospitals and facilities, including, but not limited to radiologists, pathologists, anesthesiologists and emergency room physicians.”
Out-of-Network / Surprise / Balance Billing Bills
Colorado
would require health insurance carriers to comply with federal price transparency laws and to make available an internet-based self-service tool that provides real-time responses to a covered person's questions concerning carrier prices that are based on cost-sharing information.
would allow an enrollee in the Colorado Medicaid program or within a private health insurance carrier whose coverage has been terminated or not renewed to receive continued care with the enrollee's same healthcare provider or healthcare facility under the enrollee's new health benefit plan at the in-network level when certain conditions exist.
Georgia
would provide protections for covered persons under a state health plan when an in-network hospital becomes out-of-network before the end of the plan year.
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission
West Virginia
would make the state of West Virginia an agreement state with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and would transfer authority and responsibility for sources of radiation from other state agencies to the Department of Environmental Protection. The bill would also create the Radiation Advisory Board. Under the board, the governor would appoint individuals from industry and academia with training in one or more of the following fields: radiology, medicine, radiation, health physics, physics, related sciences with specialization in ionizing radiation, law, management of nuclear materials, or emergency management.
The 新澳门六合彩官网® (新澳门六合彩官网®) has partnered with Fiscal Note, a legislation and regulation tracking service, to provide continuous, comprehensive updates on radiology and healthcare-related legislation. To stay current on state legislative developments relevant to radiology, view the 新澳门六合彩官网 policy map. You can also access information and 新澳门六合彩官网 resources about scope of practice.
For more information about state legislative activities, contact Eugenia Brandt, 新澳门六合彩官网 Senior Government Affairs Director, or Dillon Harp, 新澳门六合彩官网 Senior Government Relations Specialist.