[Sponsored Content] We’ve Got Your Back: The ASRT Government Relations Team Reflects on the Past and Looks Ahead

By Meredith Check, M.P.P.

Now that most state legislative sessions have concluded and proposals are being submitted for the 2026 legislative sessions, this is the perfect time to reflect and plan. Here’s a look at what ASRT has done, what’s in store for 2026 and, most importantly, the ways the medical imaging and radiation therapy community can engage with advocacy.

As we move into the next legislative session and policy proposals are introduced, ASRT Government Relations continues to prepare for legislative and regulatory work. We are evaluating the political and policy landscape that will affect medical imaging and radiation therapy professionals across the country. ASRT will advocate for proposals that uphold nationally recognized education, training and credentialling standards while enhancing quality, safe patient care. We also expect the 2026 elections to affect our advocacy efforts. Local, state and federal government elections will be held in 2026, primary elections will begin this spring, and the November 2026 general election is a year from now. 

Policy and Politics

You may wonder how these elections are relevant to the policy landscape. Politicians who are in tighter re-election campaigns may introduce more aggressive proposals to demonstrate that they are being productive. In states that typically support a smaller footprint for state government, this could mean efforts to deregulate and remove vital protections from the medical imaging and radiation therapy profession. If an elected official has strong support from other healthcare workers, it could manifest as expanded scopes and encroachment. All this to say that election years bring a sense of urgency for elected officials. As advocates it’s our job to stay on track so that worrying policies do not make it through. 

Along with tracking, monitoring and responding to proposed legislative and regulatory changes at the state level, ASRT continues to work with the federal government to elevate the medical imaging and radiation therapy profession and promote patient safety. Partnering with other organizations representing the profession, the ASRT has worked to improve reimbursements for diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology procedures. ASRT submitted comments on both the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Outpatient Prospective Payment System for calendar year 2026. 

Legislation Watch

In collaboration with the American Society for Radiation Oncology, ASRT launched a grassroots campaign in support of the Radiation Oncology Case Rate (ROCR) Value Based Payment Program Act of 2025 (S.1031/H.R.2120). ASRT supports ROCR because:

It is a viable payment reform proposal that would usher in a new era of stable payments after years of declines and consolidation. 

It would increase access to care, improve the quality of cancer treatment and reduce disparities for rural and underserved patients.

It would encourage innovation and lower Medicare spending and patient costs.

Along with radiation therapy reimbursement, ASRT has also launched a grassroots campaign in support of S.1692, the Radiology Outpatient Ordering Transmission (ROOT) Act. The bill addresses implementation concerns raised by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services by simplifying the administration of the Appropriate Use Criteria program that was authorized by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014. If it passes, the bill will streamline the use of AUC so Medicare beneficiaries receive appropriate advanced diagnostic imaging services, and it will save money for Medicare beneficiaries and the Medicare system.

This legislation will reduce the ever-increasing volume of imaging studies that are ordered and ensure that only appropriate imaging tests are performed. It will do this by requiring clinicians to consult evidence-based, physician-developed clinical guidelines at the point of ordering.

The Society is also partnering with other organizations to ensure that the regulations protecting patients from ionizing radiation exposure remain in place. For example, an executive order was issued instructing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to re-evaluate the principle of ALARA – as low as reasonably achievable – and its usage with power plants. However, ALARA is a critical radiation safety principle within healthcare. Therefore, ASRT is keeping a close eye on what impacts the changes to industrial radiation safety will have on medical radiation safety.

Looking Ahead

One of the questions ASRT staff have received from members is the status of the Medicare Access to Radiology Care Act, or MARCA. This proposed legislation would amend the Medicare reimbursement policy for radiologist assistants to align with state radiologist assistant licensure laws. 

Under MARCA, Medicare would fully reimburse facilities for procedures or services, regardless of the setting in which the service is performed – hospital, critical access hospital, ambulatory surgical center or any other facility setting. ASRT is steadfast in its support of RAs and its work to enact MARCA.

Rest assured, ASRT has continued and will continue to work with MARCA partners and champions in Congress to further this effort. For bills to move smoothly through the legislative process and become law, policy proposals require work behind the scenes. ASRT remains committed to this work. 

A federal government shutdown continues as of October, the time of writing. Most of ASRT’s federal efforts will continue throughout 2026, which is the last year of the 119th Congress. ASRT and its allies will be sprinting to the finish line before newly elected officials move as a result of the November 2026 elections.

For more information, visit asrt.org/BeSeen.

Meredith Check, M.P.P., is the ASRT Director of Government Relations and Public Policy. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from American University’s School of Public Affairs and has nearly 10 years of advocacy and public policy experience. She joined the ASRT’s Government Relations and Public Policy Department in the fall of 2021.