August 2007 | Vol. 25, No. 8

SVU Urges Member Support of CARE Bill

The “Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility, and Excellence in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Act of 2007” (CARE Bill) was re-introduced earlier this year in both the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 583) and in the U.S. Senate (S. 1042).

The CARE Bill takes an important step towards improving the quality of ultrasound exams. Currently, there are no federal rules establishing a minimum level of training and experience to perform ultrasound exams. There are no state rules or laws that require training and experience to perform ultrasound exams, except in California where state rules exist only for prenatal ultrasound. Many private insurance companies are trending toward requiring the accreditation of ultrasound labs or credentialing for technologists / sonographers who perform ultrasound exams in order to reimburse those providers, but there are no such requirements for patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

The CARE Bill ensures a minimum level of quality in ultrasound exams that are reimbursed by the federal health programs. The CARE Bill is expected to:

• reduce the cost and patient inconvenience of repeat exams,
• improve the ability of physicians to make accurate diagnoses, and
• encourage new quality standards in ultrasound exams paid for by non-federal programs, because state health programs and private insurance companies tend to follow the example of federal health programs.

Currently there are 119 cosponsors of the CARE Bill (H.R. 583) in the House of Representatives, which was sponsored by Rep. Michael Doyle (D-PA). To find out if your Representative is a co-sponsor of the House Bill, go to http://thomas.loc.gov website and enter the Bill number (H.R. 583) in the box, click on Bill number, and then click on Search. When the House Bill comes up, click on Bill Summary & Status and then click on cosponsors to see the alphabetical list of the current House of Representative cosponsors.

A companion CARE Bill in the Senate (S. 1042), initially sponsored by Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY), currently has 21 cosponsors. To find out if your Senator is a co-sponsor of the Senate bill, go to http://thomas.loc.gov website and enter the Bill number (S. 1042) in the box, click on Bill number, and then click on Search. When the Senate Bill comes up, click on Bill Summary & Status and then click on cosponsors to see the alphabetical list of the current Senate cosponsors.

SVU, as a charter member of the Coalition for Quality in Ultrasound, urges its members to voice your support for these Bills. Please contact your U.S. Representative and both Senators from your state by calling the US Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121, and ask to speak to the Health Legislative Assistant in your Representative’s or Senator’s office, and urge them to cosponsor either H.R. 583 (in the House) or S. 1042 (in the Senate) if they have not yet done so. Or send your personal letter by fax to your Members of Congress using the accompanying CARE Bill Letter Writing Fact Sheet. You can call the US Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for either your Representative’s office or Senator’s offices and ask them for their fax number because you are a constituent and want to fax a letter to them. Congressional contact info also is available at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov. Thank you for your support.