States Debate Bills Ranging from Scope of Practice to Prior Authorization

The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) tracks state-level bills that impact radiologists and their patients. Below are a few we wanted to highlight.  

Scope of Practice

Arkansas 

House Bill (HB) 1244 reduces the number of hours certified nurse practitioners (CNPs) and clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) need to practice independently from 6,240 hours to 2,000 hours.

Florida

HB 1341 prohibits non-physician practitioners (NPPs) from using specialist titles unless formally recognized. If NPPs use such titles and designations, it would be considered an unlicensed practice of medicine.

Senate Bill (SB) 172 prohibits healthcare providers who are not licensed as medical physicians from referring to themselves as a specialist.

SB 1540 allows physician assistants (PAs) to practice independently in a rural area after completing 3,000 clinical practice hours in the past five years.

New Jersey

Assembly Bill 944 would eliminate certain practice restrictions for advanced practice nurses, including the requirement to have collaborative agreements with physicians.

Nevada

SB 294 would remove the supervision requirement for PAs and allow them to enter into a collaborative agreement until they reach 4,000 hours.

New Hampshire

SB 285 would change the title of “physician assistant” to “physician associate.” 

Idaho

HB 77 establishes a limited licensure system for assistant physicians (AP), who meet certain criteria. An assistant physician is defined as a person who: 1) Is within the first three years of graduation from a medical school accredited by an entity recognized by the state board of medicine; and 2) Is a United States citizen or attended medical school in the United States. 

Illinois

SB 271 allows PAs to practice independently after completing 2,000 hours of clinical experience and 250 hours of continuing education post-certification. 

Kansas

HB 2366 would allow naturopaths to order diagnostic imaging studies.

Kentucky

SB 88 changes PAs practicing with physicians from a supervisory to a collaborative mode.

Maine

Legislative Document (LD) 961 allows Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) to practice without physician supervision.

LD 1166 changes the title of "physician assistants" to "physician associates.”

Massachusetts

House Document 774  allows a PA to practice independently after working 2,000 hours in a collaborative setting.

Oklahoma

HB 2584 would grant independent prescriptive authority to APRNs who meet certain requirements.

Pennsylvania

SB 25 / HB 739 would provide for independent practice for APRNs. 

SB 197 extends the period allowed for physical therapists (PTs) to treat without a referral.

Licensing

North Carolina

SB 415 would make the following changes regarding medical imaging and licensing in North Carolina:

• Only individuals licensed in North Carolina are allowed to perform or offer to perform radiologic imaging or radiation therapy procedures on humans for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes.
• This bill would also create the North Carolina Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Board of Examiners.
• The North Carolina Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Board of Examiners would establish licensure standards for a wide variety of modalities and professions, including but not limited to computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine technologist (NMT), and radiologist assistants (RA). 

Prior Authorization

Maine

SP 531 would prohibit artificial intelligence (AI) from denying, delaying, modifying or adjusting coverage for services under a health plan.  These actions must be based on medical necessity and made by a clinical peer. 

 

For more information about these bills, contact Dillon Harp, ACR Senior State Government Relations Specialist.

ACR is committed to supporting its chapters in their state-level advocacy efforts. The College also offers resources for members through the State Issues page and can assist with delivering legislative calls to action and grassroots mobilization.

ACR partners 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 ACR policy map or receive state-specific reports from Fiscal Note.

For state-level calls to action or to sign up to receive Fiscal Note reports, chapter leaders should contact Eugenia Brandt, ACR Senior Government Relations Director, or Melody Ballesteros, ACR Assistant Director of Government Relations.