The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) will host its annual Hill Day on April 5 in Washington, DC, with 65 members, patients, and industry colleagues set to lobby on key issues in the field.
On the agenda are discussions concerning the Nuclear Medicine Clarification Act of 2023 (H.R. 6815). The legislation would direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to revise its regulations on extravasations/medical event reporting. Legislators introduced the bill on January 5 as intended “to protect patients from unintended exposure to radiation during nuclear medicine procedures.”
“The SNMMI is strongly opposed to this legislation,” the SNMMI said in a recent announcement.
NRC experts are currently in the midst of rulemaking on the complex topic, and the issue should remain under their purview, the SNMMI said.
In addition, SNMMI will ask members of Congress to support the FIND Act, which seeks to unbundle diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals from payments for associated nuclear medicine scans. Bundling the payments has been been the policy of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services since 2008 and changing the policy could create greater access to patients for life-saving procedures, SNMMI said.
SNMMI will also meet with lawmakers to discuss including neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) on the list of conditions that receive dedicated research funding through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, which funds novel and innovative research for several different Congressionally selected cancers each year.
In other developments, SNMMI noted it held recent talks with Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) regarding the Find It Early Act of 2023. This legislation was introduced on May 5, 2023 and would require insurers to cover additional ultrasound or MRI cancer screenings with no out-of-pocket costs for women with dense breasts or who are at higher risk.
“While the SNMMI strongly supports the Act, we would like to strengthen it by including molecular breast imaging (MBI) as a screening option,” SNMMI said.
The society will continue monitoring this legislation and will keep members updated on any new issues, it said.
