Regulatory Update
ACR Seeks Member Input on CDC-NIOSH B Reader RFI
NOTE: The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) position is that nonphysician members of the healthcare team should not be involved in the interpretation of an imaging examination. Details about ACR’s related positions are provided in the
ACR Digest of Council Actions.
ACR first reported Dec. 19 that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Request for Information (RFI) regarding whether to allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to take the NIOSH B Reader examination to become certified B readers. NIOSH does not propose changes at this time (which would require rulemaking), though instead seeks information on the concept through public comments on seven questions by March 17.
ACR will develop and submit comments incorporating member input. Feedback is particularly needed from certified B readers, previously certified B readers, or physicians intending to become certified B readers to help inform ACR’s substantive responses to the questions. ACR requests feedback by Feb. 3 on the following:
• B reader certification status and location of practice.
• Average number of cases/workload impressions and trends.
• Remoting/teleradiology systems employed in the practice for expanding access.
• Additional pathologies observed during classifications and related processes.
• Feedback on the NIOSH RFI questions and relevant perceptions of the program (e.g., incentives/disincentives to certification and reading for the relevant surveillance programs).
Please provide input to Michael Peters, ACR Senior Director, Government Affairs, to inform ACR’s comments. To provide public comments as an individual directly to CDC-NIOSH, please carefully review the agency’s questions and provide detailed responses online. ACR GR plans to release an organized Call to Action when the ACR’s response letter is on-record with CDC-NIOSH.
Additionally, information about NIOSH’s program is available on the agency’s website. ACR’s information on its B Reader course/exam is available here.
President Biden signed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (H.R. 2882) into law March 23, to fund the U.S. Departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services and their programs for the remainder of federal fiscal year (FY) 2024.
National Institutes of Health Funding
The act includes $47.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), $378 million (0.8%) below the FY 2023 enacted level, a direct result of a scheduled reduction in 21st Century Cures funding available to appropriators in FY 2024. The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) advocated in support of NIH increases.
NIH received $300 million in new funding that is reflected in increases to nine institutes and centers. The act also:
Directs the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) to create an Initiative for Improving Native American Cancer Outcomes to support efforts including research, education, outreach and clinical access related to cancer in Native American populations to improve their screening, diagnosis and treatment of cancers.
Encourages the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) to support the development of novel technologies to discover the earliest biological events leading to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
Directs the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) Cures Acceleration Network to reduce barriers between research discovery and clinical trials..
Directs the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to continue research into the causation of and risk factors for valvular heart disease, focusing on the use of advanced technological imaging and other relevant methods to generate data related to valvular heart disease and assessing potential risk factors for sudden cardiac arrest.
ARPA-H Funding
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) received $1.5 billion in funding, the same level as provided in FY 2023. The legislation urges ARPA-H to consider funding research on rare cancers that have low survival rates and little advancement in therapeutics.
Another provision of the act supported by ACR is an extension of Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screenings (PALS)-type language to ensure access to coverage for annual screening mammography for women 40 and older with no deductibles or copays.
President Biden recently released his
FY 2025 budget proposal, in which he requests Congress increase funding for NIH and $716 million in discretionary funds for NCI. Funding for the Cancer Moonshot program was also incorporated into the proposed budget. ACR has begun advocacy efforts for an increase in NIH funding for FY 2025,
asking Congress to provide $53.1 billion to NIH.
Monica Bertagnolli Confirmed as NIH Director
Monica Bertagnolli, MD, began her role as the 17th director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) this week, after a U.S. Senate confirmation. President Biden announced Dr. Bertagnolli as his nominee to lead the NIH in May.
As director, Dr. Bertagnolli will lead the world’s largest public funder of biomedical and behavioral research and oversee NIH’s $47 billion budget. She currently serves as the director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up NIH. Her accomplishments during her tenure at NCI include improving the efficiency, inclusivity, and speed of clinical trials, increasing overall data sharing and utilization, and implementing pragmatic approaches to study design.
ACR worked with Dr. Bertagnolli during her tenure as NCI director. She is directly involved with radiology and imaging tools, as they are necessary and highly utilized in NCI research. ACR will continue to encourage imaging as a priority in Dr. Bertagnolli’s role as NIH director.
For more information, contact
Katie Grady, ACR Government Affairs Director.
ACR Submits Congressional Testimony in Support of NIH Funding
The American College of Radiology® (ACR®)
submitted congressional testimony on March 23 to the U.S. House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee in support of an increased funding recommendation for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the federal fiscal year (FY) 2024. ACR urged the subcommittee to provide at least $50.9 billion for FY 2024, a $3.5 billion increase compared to FY 2023 levels, in addition to the release of the 21st Century Cures funds. Additionally, with the authorization of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), ACR supports an increase to this new agency while maintaining a separate appropriation outside of the NIH base budget in FY 2024.
The testimony pointed to radiology and imaging advancements ACR has participated in, made possible by federal investments in the agency. The four examples, which are listed below, show how robust NIH funding has improved radiology patient care.
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The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST).
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The Randomized Evaluation of Patients with Stable Angina Comparing Utilization of Noninvasive Examinations (RESCUE) Trial.
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The Tomosynthesis Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (TMIST)
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An NCI-designated central public repository of medical images and associated clinical data from lung cancer screening patients.
For more information, contact
Katie Grady, ACR Government Affairs Director.
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