I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5274
To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to provide public access
to quality medical imaging procedures and radiation therapy procedures.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 25, 2000
Mr. LAZIO (for himself, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. MCKEON, Mr.
OBERSTAR, and Mr. LIPINSKI) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to provide
public access to quality medical imaging procedures and
radiation therapy procedures.
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 ‘‘Consumer Assurance
of Radiologic Excellence Act’’.
SEC. 2. STATE LICENSES REGARDING PRACTITIONERS OF
MEDICAL IMAGING AND RADIATION THER-
APY; LIMITATION ON MEDICAID PAYMENTS
FOR PROCEDURES.
Title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396
et seq.) is amended—
(1) in section 1903(i) (42 U.S.C. 1396b(i))—
(A) in paragraph (20), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (20) the
following paragraph:
‘‘(21) with respect to any amount expended on
medical imaging procedures or radiation therapy
procedures unless the State meets the requirements
of section 1930A (relating to State medical radiation
licenses).’’; and
(2) by inserting after section 1930 the following
section:
‘‘STATE MEDICAL RADIATION LICENSES
‘‘SEC. 1930A. (a) STATE LICENSES REGARDING
MEDICAL IMAGING AND RADIATION THERAPY.—For pur-
poses of section 1903(i)(21), a State meets the require-
ments of this section if the State demonstrates to the sat-
isfaction of the Secretary that the law of the State has
in effect the following policies:
ation license from a State. In carrying out the pre-
ceding sentence, the Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) establish such standards as the Sec-
retary determines to be appropriate for ensur-
ing the quality performance of medical imaging
procedures and radiation therapy procedures;
and
‘‘(B) ensure that the standards are at least
as protective of the public health as standards
issued under the Consumer-Patient Radiation
Health and Safety Act of 1981.
‘‘(2) CERTAIN
STANDARDS.—The Secretary
shall ensure that standards under paragraph (1) are
in accordance with the following:
‘‘(A) The standards shall specify the edu-
cational requirements for an individual to ob-
tain a medical radiation license, including, if
applicable, requirements regarding practical ex-
perience.
‘‘(B) The standards shall provide that an
educational requirement under subparagraph
(A) is that the education involved be provided
by an educational institution or program that is
accredited by a nonprofit private entity recog-
nized by the Secretary for purposes of this sub-
section.
‘‘(C) The standards shall specify the cri-
teria that an entity is required to meet in order
to be recognized by the Secretary as an accred-
iting entity under subparagraph (B). Such cri-
teria shall provide that an entity will not be so
recognized unless the entity establishes accred-
iting criteria satisfactory to the Secretary with
respect to the quality of educational institutions
and programs in the areas of administrative
policies and procedures, curricula, record-
keeping, faculty, administrative support, and
such other areas as the Secretary determines to
be appropriate.
‘‘(3) CONSULTATION.—In developing standards
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult
with organizations that are nationally recognized for
their expertise in education and credentialing in
radiologic technology.
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
‘‘(1) The term ‘medical imaging procedure’
means any procedure or article, excluding medical
ultrasound procedures or articles, intended for use
in the diagnosis of disease or other medical, chiro-
practic, or dental conditions in humans, including di-
agnostic X-rays, nuclear medicine and magnetic res-
onance procedures.
‘‘(2) The term ‘medical radiation license’ has
the meaning indicated for such term in subsection
(a)(1).
‘‘(3) The term ‘radiation therapy procedure’
means any radiation procedure or article intended
for the cure, mitigation, or prevention of diseases or
disorders in humans.’’.
SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY.
With respect to the condition described in paragraph
(21) of section 1903(i) of the Social Security Act (as in-
serted by section 2 of this Act):
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), such
condition applies to the States on and after the first
day of the first calendar quarter that begins after
the date on which the Secretary of Health and
Human Services promulgates the final rule under
section 1930A(b)(1) of the Social Security Act (as
added by section 2 of this Act).
(2) If the Secretary determines that meeting
such condition requires State legislation (other than
legislation appropriating funds), the condition ap-
plies to the State involved on and after the first day
of the first calendar quarter that begins after the
close of the relevant session of the State legislature.
For purposes of the preceding sentence:
(A) The relevant session is the first reg-
ular session of the State legislature that begins
after the date on which such final rule is pro-
mulgated by the Secretary, subject to subpara-
graph (B).
(B) If the State has a two-year legislative
session, each year of the session is deemed to
be a separate regular session of the State legis-
lature for purposes of subparagraph (A).
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