Dear Colleague,
Thank you for your continued membership in the Massachusetts Radiological Society, the state chapter of the American College of Radiology. I want to take this opportunity to report to you how the society is working for our membership, which includes physicists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, and diagnostic radiologists.
Our society continues to work on your behalf, as well as that of our patients, to advocate, educate and lead. This summer, we were closely monitoring the end of the state legislature’s formal session.
Legislative Efforts
We had strong concerns about the implementation of the State Price Transparency Requirements and surprise billing, as it created conflicting requirements with the federal legislation. I am happy to report that the legislature heeded the words of the physician community and has delayed implementation of this law until January 2025. Similarly, we were also happy that the physician and hospital community was able to prevent legislative attempts to impose an out of network default rate, as there was strong concern this could lead to insurance companies not negotiating fair rates, and instead defaulting to the OON rate. Finally, we worked with our partners at the MMS and MA-ACOG to advocate for An Act Expanding Protections for Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Care.
Contrast Shortage
As many across the world were grappling with the contrast shortage earlier this year, we were working with our partners at the Massachusetts Hospital Association (MHA) to ensure that guidance for management of the contrast shortage was shared with partners across the Commonwealth. Additionally, we were concerned about how prior authorizations and insurance denials might affect our members and patients, and worked with the MHA to meet with the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans (MAHP) to advocate for flexibility and understanding by the Health Plans and their benefit managers.
MassCollaborative on the Radiology Family of Codes
More recently, we have been working with the MassCollaborative on the Radiology Family of Codes, working with the MHA, MHAP, and others to identify opportunities to move towards pre-authorization of a family of codes, rather than a single code to facilitate the prior authorization process. This methodology has been supported by the ACR and the Radiology Business Manager Association (RBMA), and could help streamline the prior authorization process for our patients.
Radiology Health Equity Coalition Partner
I am proud to report that the MRS was the first state chapter to become a Radiology Health Equity Coalition (RHEC) Partner. We have begun meeting with other partners across the country, with the goal of empowering our members to make a positive impact in health care equity in radiology. With this goal in mind, I am also pleased to report that our state chapter received a grant from the ACR to develop a state-wide program to promote screening for both breast and lung cancer. Funds are being used to translate screening forms into the 10 most common languages spoken in Massachusetts. These forms will be disseminated to all practices in Massachusetts, who can have patients fill them out in the radiology waiting rooms when they check in for an imaging exam. This will help identify patients gets access to important screening. If you are interested in participating in our pilot project, before we role this out to all members, please let me know.
Virtual Capitol Hill Day
The ACR will be coordinating meetings with key House Representatives and Senators in November virtually to advocate for a number of the issues that are critical to our members, including with regards to changes in the Medical Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). If you are in the district of one of these key legislators, I encourage you to participate.
Annual Meeting and Member Engagement
It is my hope that in the coming year, as the pandemic continues to evolve, that we will again be able to create community, with an in-person / hybrid annual meeting. It has been too long since we have all been able to gather together, see old friends, and make new ones. While the virtual environment has many benefits, it does detract from the ability to build community and network. To this end, we are also hoping to learn more about our members, and how we as a society can better serve you.
I wish you well in the coming year, and thank you for your trust in me to lead our society in this coming year. I encourage you to stay engaged, and to not hesitate to reach out should you wish to participate in an executive committee meeting, Capitol Hill Day, or other efforts by our society.
Yours sincerely,
Neel Madan, MD
MRS President 2022-2023