Government Relations

ACNM Government Relations Areas of Focus

Representation of nuclear physician's interests before Congress and federal regulatory bodies
Monthly government affairs reports
Electronic issue alerts
FDA activities with respect to review and approval of radiopharmaceuticals
NRC quality assurance activities
Efforts to influence federal funding for nuclear medicine research
Educational and training requirements for NRC licensure
Nuclear medicine political action committee

Breaking News

ACNM relays concern about Executive Order 13769, suspending the entry of alien nationals from seven countries, to the US President. Read ACNM's letter to the president.

ACNM responds to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Draft Program-Specific Guidance About Medical Use Licenses (NRC-2016-0122), questioning the utility of the proposed revision. Read ACNM's response.

Latest News

December 2, 2020 — Final 2021 MPFS Rule Fails to Provide Relief, SNMMI and Coalition Lobby Congress to Protect Physician Reimbursement and Access to Care
Yesterday evening, December 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the calendar year 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule. Though SNMMI agrees with the adoption of the new evaluation and management (E/M) coding structure recommended by the American Medical Association (AMA), this will result in significant payment reductions to nuclear medicine (~8%) and radiology (~11%) services unless the government removes the budget neutrality requirements.
November 12, 2020 — SNMMI Objects to Humana’s Decision to Deny Coverage for PET/CT
On November 6, SNMMI received word regarding Humana’s recent decision [Policy Number: HCS-0506-010] to deny coverage for PET/CT (CPT codes 78429-78433) on the basis that it is “experimental/investigational” and “not identified as widely used and generally accepted for the proposed uses as reported in nationally recognized peer-reviewed medical literature.”
November 11, 2020 — SNMMI and Coalition Support Bill Waiving Budget Neutrality, Increasing Proposed Physician Reimbursement for 2021
Today, SNMMI and a coalition consisting of 73 medical societies sent a letter to Congress in support of H.R. 8702, a bill to halt pending Medicare payment cuts resulting from the planned evaluation and management (E/M) code changes slated for implementation on January 1, 2021.
October 13, 2020 — SNMMI and Partners Ask Congress to Waive Budget Neutrality for MPFS
On Friday, SNMMI and several medical societies sent a joint letter asking Congress to waive budget neutrality for the relative value unit increases in the CY 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The CMS Proposed CY 2021 MPFS Rule increased payment rates for evaluation and management codes; however, because of budget neutrality imposed by Congress, increases would lead to huge deficits other payment rates.
October 2, 2020 — FDA-NRC Workshop: Register Now
Throughout the spring and summer, SNMMI has been working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on coordinating a workshop to be held on October 14, 2020.

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