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2009 RT in DC Experiences From Tara Peterson, the student representative: RT
in DC 2009 was such an amazing experience I want to first thank RTOW for the opportunity to attend. With
the current political and economic changes it was an exciting place to be and to learn first-hand the process of a bill.
Since I had never been to D.C. before, Monday was spent at a training conference. We were educated
on the current status of the bill and our need for a new sponsor in the house. The afternoon was spent
with roll-playing demonstrations. By Monday evening I was excited to be on capital hill Tuesday.
It was a bit nerve-racking talking to the staff of the representatives and senators at first, but soon found our bill
was well received. With a current health reform well underway in the making, we were offering a healthcare
bill that would save money. In fact the Congressional Budget office in the 109th congress estimated
that the CARE bill would save $100 million annually, exactly what President Obama had asked congress to cut just the day before!
In addition with the 11 years of work trying to get the CARE bill passed any opposition has been worked out.
It will be exciting to see what happens in the next coming weeks.
I had the opportunity to lead the meeting with Congressman Ron Kind’s staff. In the past Ron
Kind has been a co-sponsor of the CARE bill this year we had asked if he would be willing to introduce the bill to the House
since we are need of someone. The staffer we spoke with was unsure at the time and I follow up with the
office to see where they are at
I encourage you to contact your representatives and senators and ask them to co-sponsor the CARE bill.
Knowing this is a concern of their constituents will prompt them to consider the CARE bill when it is introduced in
the next couple of weeks.
 From
Jackie Springstroh
First off, I would like to thank the entire RTOW organization for
sponsoring Tara, Stacey, and myself on this trip to RT in DC. It really was an experience that I cannot
put a value on. For anyone thinking about taking this trip with our organization in the future, please
do so! You will learn more than you can imagine and the experience is a great one! Besides
seeing many of the great sites that Washington D.C. has to offer, I was also able to learn so much about our legislative process,
our current elected officials, the government as a whole, our nation’s history, and about our own profession.
It is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life and hopefully these skills will come into play in other
areas of my life! I
started this trip by spending a full day learning about the process of going to lobby on Capitol Hill and the history of the
CARE Bill. It’s very frustrating to learn how close we’ve gotten to passing this bill, only
to have congress’ session end and the bill to fall dead. One thing I learned is that each bill is
not a year to year thing. Unfortunately any progress you make on passing a bill, is wiped clean at the
beginning of a new session when it comes to its progress through the senate and house. So this year we
are starting fresh in both the senate and the house trying to get this bill through. We are hoping
the bill will be introduced in the next couple of weeks in the Senate and hopefully the house will not be far behind once
we secure a sponsor! In my eyes, it seems that the biggest hope for the CARE bill is that it will be attached
to a larger Health Reform Bill set to be passed in this session of congress. Senator Kennedy is drafting
the Health Reform Bill and since he is a big proponent of the CARE bill, we are hoping that he will wrap this legislation
in with the larger bill, increasing its chances of making it through both houses of Congress and passing this year!
Over the course of two days we had 10 appointments with Senators, Congressmen/woman, and Representatives.
Most of these were really positive meetings, with the staffers stating for the most part that if the bill came to the
floor they would vote positively for it. A big bonus to this bill is that it is estimated to save
the US Congress at least $100 million annually!! This is a huge savings, and cost savings is a ticket word
right now in the US government! We are hoping that this will help to move the bill through congress and
to the President’s desk this year!
There is so much more I could share, but I know for someone who wasn’t there, this can get pretty confusing!
I would be happy to talk to anyone interested in more information and I can’t stress enough that everyone needs
to take part in getting this bill passed! Even if you didn’t have the chance to go to D.C. this year,
there is still plenty you can do! Write your representatives and Senators or call them or email them…they
are listening!!!!
Dear RTOW Members, RT in DC this year was very exciting
and successful. The CARE Bill has yet to be introduced this year in either the Senate or House of Representatives
but the response on Capitol Hill was overwhelmingly positive. In addition to the safety and quality of
healthcare that the CARE Bill would ensure, the 109th Congressional Budget Office scored the bill to have a cost
savings of $100 million annually after one full year of implementation. That cost savings only accounted
for a reduction in 1% of unnecessary repeated x-rays which is a very conservative estimate. The volume
of that cost saving was heard loud and clear on Capitol Hill, especially this year when many are looking for ways to cut healthcare
costs. The common message that we heard was that the CARE Bill would probably succeed best if it was rolled
into a larger healthcare reform bill so we will wait to see if this happens. When the bills are introduced
into the Senate and House of Representatives we will again be contacting those individuals that we spoke with during RT in
DC to update them on the bill numbers and encourage the Senators and Congressmen/Congresswomen to move the bills forward and
out of committee. As updates become available we will keep the RTOW posted. Lastly,
I encourage each one of you to contact your Senators and Congressperson to encourage support of the CARE Bill.
Every voice is heard and everyone can make a difference. I would like to thank the RTOW for allowing me the opportunity to attend RT in DC
this year. It was a very interesting and exciting learning experience. Hopefully this
will be the year that the CARE Bill moves forward. Sincerely, Stacey Clegg B.S.RT(T) President Elect RTOW
 RT in DC Student Application and Rules RTOW
will sponsor one radiation therapy intern to attend RT in DC along with the president and the president elect, or designated
board members. The radiation therapy intern would have to accomplish the following with essay scored by
three RTOW members. - Submit an essay covering the following in
three pages or less:
- “Why do I feel it is important to
be a member of my professional organizations and what skills do I have to be a future leader in RTOW”
- “Why do I think as a radiation therapist we should be concerned with
passing the RadCare Act and Care Bill
- Call one RTOW member who has attended RT
in DC and ask them about their experience at RT in DC. Ask a board member for names.
- Student
must be in their final year of internship.
- Winning recipient
must be willing write an article for the presiding RTOW newsletter about their experience and present their experience at
the next RTOW meeting.
Submit essay by Jan.7, 2009 to your clinical coordinator and they will pass it on for
judging.
News Release
CARE Bill Introduced in
House of Representatives
Jan. 22, 2007
Bill Undergoes Name Change
ALBUQUERQUE — The Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility and Excellence in Medical Imaging and Radiation
Therapy bill (CARE bill) was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, Jan. 19.. This bill, H.R. 583, introduced
by Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., was previously known as the Consumer Assurance of Radiologic Excellence bill. The lead Republican
cosponsor on the bill is Rep. Chip Pickering, from Mississippi, who has been a long time supporter of the legislation and
helped advance the bill in the 109th Congress to its furthest point to date. Other cosponsors of the bill are Reps. Marsha
Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Lois Capps, D-Calif.; John J. Duncan, Jr., R-Tenn.; Mike Rogers, R-Mich.; and Heather Wilson, R-N.M.
"We're very pleased that the bill was introduced so early in the session," said Christine Lung, ASRT's director
of government relations. "The CARE bill came very close to passing last year, and this is the earliest it has ever been introduced
into a session. We want to keep the momentum going. This is the fifth time the bill has been introduced into Congress and
each time, we get closer."
The RadCARE bill was unanimously passed by the Senate in December 2006. Last-minute efforts to get the bill
through Congress, however, were not successful. "It was all about time. We simply ran out of it," said Ms. Lung. "However,
with the passing of the bill by the Senate and a new Democratic leadership following the November 2006 elections, we feel
we are in a very strong position to get the bill passed this year."
The CARE bill would require people performing the technical components of medical imaging and radiation therapy
to meet federal education and credentialing standards in order to participate in federal health programs such as Medicare,
Medicaid and other programs administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. Medical imaging examinations and
procedures, as well as radiation therapy treatments for patients covered under these programs, would need to be performed
by personnel meeting the federal standards in order to be eligible for reimbursement.
ASRT, along with the other members of the Alliance for Quality Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy, decided
to change the name of the bill from the Consumer Assurance of Radiologic Excellence bill, to the Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility
and Excellence in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy bill with its introduction into this year’s session of Congress.
The CARE bill is the short name for both the House and the Senate versions of the bill. The short title for the Senate version
of the bill had been the RadCARE bill.
The new name came about when the Alliance, a group of 20 radiologic science organizations representing more
than 350,000 imaging technologists, radiation therapists and medical physicists, felt it was time for a change. "We felt that
changing the name was important," said Ms. Lung. "The new name more accurately reflects the global nature of medical imaging,
which now plays an important role in every area of medicine. With more than 300 million imaging procedures performed annually,
patient care and safety are even more important now." The Alliance also felt name recognition was important, so they decided
to continue to use the CARE bill as the short title.
Contact: Michelle Stephens, 800-444-2778, Ext. 1287
Courtesy of www.asrt.org The CARE Bill: What It Is And Why It's Important
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Congress has the opportunity to improve the quality of medical imaging
and radiation therapy nationwide by passing either the Consumer Assurance of Radiologic Excellence bill, H.R. 1214, in the
House, or the RadCARE bill, S. 1197, in the Senate. These bills establish minimum educational and credentialing standards
for personnel who plan and deliver radiation therapy and perform all types of medical imaging exams, except diagnostic sonography.
The CARE and RadCARE bills will help improve the safety of medical
imaging and radiation therapy procedures. Administered properly, radiation is an invaluable tool in the diagnosis, treatment
and management of disease. Poor quality images, however, can lead to misdiagnosis, additional testing, delays in treatment
and needless anxiety for the patient. Most radiologic procedures also carry a potential health risk; radiation can be
harmful if administered incorrectly.
The bills also will reduce health care costs by lowering the number
of medical imaging exams that must be repeated due to improper positioning or poor technique. Repeated imaging exms
cost the health care system millions of dollars annually in needless medical bills. More than 3000,000,000 - that's
right, 300 million - medical imaging exams and radiation therapy treatments are administered annually in the United States.
Seven our of every 10 Americans undergo a medical imaging exam or radiation therapy treatment each year.
The CARE bill was first introduced in the House six years ago.
It gains more support each session. A similar bill was introduced in the Senate for the first time last year.
Congress can pass either bill. This session the CARE bill was introduced in March 2003 by Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M.,
and currently is in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. From there it goes to the full House for discussion
and voting. The RadCARE bill was introduced in June 2003 by Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and is in the Senate Committee on
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. If either bill passes, a joint conference committee would sort out the differences
in the bills and send it on to the other chamber where it is voted upon. The bill's final stop is the president's desk.
He either signs it into law or vetoes it.
As of R.T. in D.C. in early March, Congress only had about 90 days
left in this session. If either bill does not pass before the end of the year, the legislation will die and must be
reintroduced next year.
Compliments of ASRT Scanner.
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