States Introduce Certificate of Need, Prior Authorization Bills

As we look forward to April, many state legislatures are reaching the midpoint of their sessions while some have adjourned. During this midpoint, it’s important for members to continue monitoring bills in their states as things can start to move very quickly. Below are a few bills that the American College of Radiology® (ACR®) is tracking that could affect the practice of radiology.

Certificate of Need

Michigan

Senate Bill (SB) 148 would allow an individual to obtain a written acknowledgment, rather than a certificate of need for the following items, provided they are performed at an outpatient imaging center:

• A positron emission tomography (PET) scanner.
• A fixed or mobile magnetic resonance imager (MRI).
• A fixed or mobile computerized tomography (CT) scanner.

Scope of Practice

Maine

House Paper (HP) 417 would require any individual employed in a chiropractic office whose duties include the production of x-rays to be certified as a radiologic technologist (RT).

Rhode Island

House Bill (HB) 6060 would permit physical therapists (PTs) to continue to order diagnostic imaging beyond Dec. 31, 2025.

Licensing

Texas

HB 4380 would require a medical physicist to hold a license in MRI physics to practice in that medical specialty.

Prior Authorization

Arkansas

HB 1816 prohibits healthcare providers and healthcare insurers from using artificial intelligence (AI) in the delivery of healthcare services or the generation of medical records unless the AI is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and verified by a quality assurance laboratory.

Minnesota

HF 2500 would prohibit a health carrier from using an algorithm or AI program when making a determination to approve or deny a prior authorization request.

South Carolina

S 443 would prohibit any action concerning healthcare coverage decisions that have been made solely based on results derived from the use or application of AI or automated decision-making tools. This bill would also require a healthcare professional to supervise and meaningfully review any coverage decisions made using automated decision-making tools when those tools are used to inform decisions to modify or deny requests by providers for prior authorization.

Texas

HB 4635 would require an insurer or health maintenance organization (HMO), that denies a claim based on a determination made by AI to provide the claimant with notice of the denial in a written disclosure that states the denial was by AI and instructions on how to appeal the denial.

For more information about these bills, contact Dillon Harp, ACR Senior State Government Relations Specialist.

ACR is committed to supporting its chapters in their state-level advocacy efforts. The College also offers resources for members through the State Issues page and can assist with delivering legislative calls to action and grassroots mobilization.

ACR partners with Fiscal Note, a legislation and regulation tracking service, to provide continuous, comprehensive updates on radiology- and healthcare-related legislation. To stay current on state legislative developments relevant to radiology, view the ACR policy map or receive state-specific reports from Fiscal Note.

For state-level calls to action or to sign up to receive Fiscal Note reports, chapter leaders should contact Eugenia Brandt, ACR Senior Government Relations Director, or Melody Ballesteros, ACR Assistant Director of Government Relations.