H.R. 9984: Medicare Access to Radiology Care Act of 2026

This bill would let Medicare pay for certain services provided by radiologist assistants when those services are done under the supervision of a radiologist and the assistant is authorized to perform them under state law.

What changes for Medicare

• It adds radiologist assistant services to the list of services that Medicare can cover.
• It defines those services as tasks that would otherwise be physician services, but are performed by a radiologist assistant under a radiologist’s supervision.
• It requires that the assistant be legally allowed to do the work in that state.
• It also says that no other provider, besides the supervising radiologist, can separately charge or be paid for those services.

Who counts as a radiologist assistant

Under the bill, a radiologist assistant is a radiographer who is certified by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists as a registered radiologist assistant.

How payment would work

• For these services in certain facility settings, Medicare would pay the supervising radiologist rather than paying the assistant directly.
• The bill says this would apply in places like hospitals, critical access hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, and any other provider settings the Secretary of Health and Human Services may later specify.
• It clarifies that the bill does not change payment for the technical part of imaging services, change how much Medicare pays radiologists for services they personally perform, or change payment rules for services furnished in covered facility settings that already exist under current law.

Timing

The changes would take effect for services furnished on or after January 1, 2027.

Relevant Companies

• None found