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State Issues

The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) takes a proactive approach to legislative and regulatory trends across the country and assists chapters with state-level legislative and regulatory initiatives.

ACR staff monitors hundreds of radiology-related bills introduced in state legislatures each year. Issues we track include scope of practice, prior authorization, workforce shortages, teleradiology licensing and practice requirements, certificate of need laws, reimbursement issues, AI in radiology and medical liability reform.

ACR Members are encouraged to reach out to Eugenia Brandt, ACR Senior Government Affairs Director and Dillon Harp, ACR Senior Government Relations Specialist with state questions.

ACR State Legislative Tracking Map

Stay on top of state legislative developments relevant to radiology. Access state legislation tracked by the College.

Start tracking

Issues and Resources

Scope of Practice

Proper supervision and interpretation of imaging exams by highly-trained radiologist physicians is critical to the accurate diagnosis and treatment of disease, injury and illness. ACR works with our state chapters to advocate at the legislative, regulatory and administrative levels for clear, sensible definition of scope for allied health professionals.

What ACR Is Doing

State Advocacy Resources

Participating in advocacy activities can seem a bit confusing, especially to newcomers. To learn about the many facets of grassroots advocacy, and to utilize the plethora of web-based information on state-related issues, check out the following.

RADVOCACY site

ACR State Government Relations Committee

The ACR State Government Relations Committee meets regularly to evaluate state legislative and regulatory proposals and actions. For more information about how to participate as a ‘guest caller’ on one of the committee calls

Contact Eugenia Brandt

10 Tips for Lobbying State Legislatures

While there are many strategies that chapters and their members can utilize to successfully lobby on behalf of radiology, this top 10 listing illustrates some of the most important things to keep in mind.

At least six times a year, take 30 minutes of your time to contact a lawmaker by letter, phone, e-mail, office visit, etc. That will make you more active than 99.9 percent of all citizens and therefore 99.9 percent more legislatively successful. Remember, lobbying your state legislators is a year-round effort.

Don't burn bridges. Your adversary on one issue may be your ally on the next. Write a thank-you note to the lawmaker no matter the outcome.

What better way to describe the importance of an issue to a lawmaker than to show him or her up close and personal? Invite lawmakers to your office or other appropriate locations to put a face on your issue. Most state lawmakers are not full-time and they value the opportunity to learn more about an issue from an "expert" in the field.

Sometimes you and your lawmaker will have to compromise. Assess what you can realistically achieve now, and work on the rest later. And be patient. Sometimes decisions will take months.

The more responsibility and involvement you assume, the more vigorous the commitment and support you can expect from your lawmaker.

There's strength in numbers. This is true for financial support as well as for all forms of communication. Remind your lawmaker how many people (i.e., votes) in your organization share your position. Again, think volume.

Include lawmakers on your mailing list for chapter newsletters, and make sure you are on their mailing lists, as well.

Ask your lawmakers to state their position. If their position agrees with yours, ask what you can do to strengthen that support and how you can get others to help support them. If their position is different from yours, ask what information or show of public support is necessary to change that position.

Explain the logic of your position in straightforward terms — jobs, cost, how many people will be affected, etc. Always have detailed information you can give to explain your logic. (It's a "must leave behind" for office visits). In all communications, be sure to include the bill number and/or name of the legislation or regulation, as well as your name, postal and e-mail addresses, and home and office phone numbers.

Don't waste anyone's time. Get to the point fast, and focus on your issue. Keep your visit to no longer than 15 minutes; lawmakers will appreciate your consideration for their busy schedules.

Many of the items in the above list can be credited to Patrick Haggerty. Haggerty is an author and has given presentations to special interest groups on political activism in 40 states.