I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3032 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for payment 
for services of qualified radiologist assistants under the Medicare program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 22, 2011 
Mr. REICHERT (for himself, Mr. OLSON, Mr. PASCRELL, and Mr. MATHESON) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and 
Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide 
for payment for services of qualified radiologist assistants 
under the Medicare program. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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 2011’’. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
02:18 Sep 27, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3032.IH
H3032
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. MEDICARE PAYMENT FOR QUALIFIED 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) by striking the semicolon at the end of 
clause (ii) and inserting a comma; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
clause: 
‘‘(iii) qualified radiologist assistant services (as 
defined in subsection (iii)(1)),’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘Qualified Radiologist Assistant Services; Qualified 
Radiologist Assistant 
‘‘(iii)(1) The term ‘qualified radiologist assistant 
services’ means services— 
‘‘(A) performed by a qualified radiologist assist-
ant (as defined in paragraph (2)) as an employee, 
leased employee, or independent contractor of the 
supervising radiologist under the supervision (as de-
termined by State law) of a radiologist; and 
‘‘(B) which the radiologist assistant is legally 
authorized to perform under State law (or the State 
regulatory mechanism provided by State law). 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
02:18 Sep 27, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3032.IH
H3032
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(2) The term ‘qualified radiologist assistant’ means 
a radiographer who is certified by the American Registry 
of Radiologic Technologists as a registered radiologist as-
sistant or by the Certification Board for Radiology Practi-
tioner Assistants as a radiology practitioner assistant to 
perform radiologic procedures under the supervision (as 
determined by State law) of a radiologist.’’. 
(b) PAYMENT
IN RELATION
TO PHYSICIAN FEE 
SCHEDULE.— 
(1) PAYMENT LEVEL.—Section 1833(a)(1)(O) 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395l(a)(1)(O)) is amended 
by inserting ‘‘or qualified radiologist assistant serv-
ices’’ after ‘‘or clinic nurse specialists’’. 
(2) PAYMENT TO SUPERVISING RADIOLOGIST.— 
The first sentence of section 1842(b)(6) of such Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395u(b)(6)) is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘(H)’’; and 
(B) by inserting before the period at the 
end the following: ‘‘, and (I) in the case of 
qualified radiologist assistant services, the pay-
ment shall be made to the supervising radiolo-
gist’’. 
(3) RULES
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this section, or the amendments made by this sec-
tion, shall be construed as affecting— 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
02:18 Sep 27, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3032.IH
H3032
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(A) coverage of and payment for the tech-
nical component (including the technical compo-
nent of a global fee) with respect to imaging 
services under title XVIII of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) as in effect before 
the date of the enactment of this Act; or 
(B) the amount of payment made for phy-
sicians’ services under such title when furnished 
solely by a radiologist. 
(c) REVIEW AND REPORT.—The Secretary of Health 
and Human Services shall conduct a review of the effect 
of the amendments made by this section on patient satis-
faction and on the clinical and operational effectiveness 
of the use of radiologist assistants pursuant to such 
amendments, and shall submit to Congress not later than 
January 1, 2016, a report to Congress on such review. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to services furnished on or after 
January 1, 2012. 
Æ 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
02:18 Sep 27, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H3032.IH
H3032
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS