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SNMMI Advocacy Newsletter
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The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) held its 2023 in person Hill Day in Washington, DC for the first time since COVID. We were thrilled to welcome more than 45 attendees—including members of our Board of Directors, physicians, scientists, technologists, patients, and industry colleagues—to the nation’s capital to advocate on legislation and policy important to our members.
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We began the day with a breakfast briefing focused on the “dos and don’ts” of effective advocacy and an overview of our legislative priorities for the day (1) the FIND Act; (2) NRC extravasation legislative language, and (3) DOD Appropriations grant report language.
Thank you again to everyone that joined us!
Below is a list of all of the legislative offices the groups met with during this year’s Hill Day. If you’re interested in learning more about Hill Day, please reach out to our Advocacy Team HPRA@Advocacy.org.
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- Senator Tim Scott (R-SC)
- Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
- Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
- Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
- Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
- Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Senator Mark Warner (D-VA)
- Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA)
- Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
- Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
- Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
- Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
- Senator John Fetterman (D-PA)
- Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)
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- Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA)
- Representative James McGovern (D-MA)
- Representative Richard Neal (D-MA)
- Representative Andrew Garbarino (R-NY)
- Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)
- Representative John Sarbanes (D-MD)
- Representative Gerald Connolly (D-VA)
- Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN)
- Representative Mark Green (R-TN)
- Representative Madeline Dean (D-PA)
- Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)
- Representative Beth Van Duyne (R-TX)
- Representative Kevin Hern (R-OK)
- Representative Garret Graves (R-LA)
- Representative Erin Houchin (R-IN)
- Representative Frank Mrvan (D-IN)
- Representative Hillary Scholten (D-MI)
- Representative Haley Stevens (D-MI)
- Representative John Duarte (R-CA)
- Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA)
- Representative Larry Bucshon (R-IN)
- Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
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FIND Act Update
On May 15, Senate companion legislation S. 1544, the Facilitating Innovative Nuclear Diagnostics (FIND) Act of 2023 was introduced by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). Earlier this year, Representatives Neal Dunn (R-FL), Scott Peters (D-CA), Greg Murphy (R-NC), and Terri Sewell (D-AL) introduced the House version, H.R. 1199. SNMMI joins with more than 100 stakeholder organizations applauding the legislators for their leadership in introducing this important legislationThe FIND Act would unbundle payments for certain radiopharmaceuticals and procedures to ensure equitable access to care for patients. In 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) bundled the payment for radiopharmaceuticals and procedures into ambulatory classifications (APCs); however, with the increase in costs of certain diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, the bundled payment is no longer sufficient and has actually resulted in hospitals being disincentivized from offering particular nuclear medicine procedures. The FIND Act would close the cost gap and ensure patients have access to the most appropriate treatment options.
To encourage your Member of Congress to support the FIND Act and help get it passed this year, please send an email to your legislators by clicking here.
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Robert E. Henkin Government Relations Fellowship
SNMMI welcomed our Robert E. Henkin Government Relations Fellows to Washington, DC April 24-28.
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[Picture from left to right: Angelica Gordon, Justin Peacock, and Angela Weiler]
▫ Angellica Gordon, MD was chosen as the 2023 Henkin Fellow. Angellica is a PGY-3 resident in the nuclear medicine program at UCLA and recently participated in the SNMMI Future Leaders Program.
▫ Justin Peacock, MD, PhD, was chosen as the 2020 Henkin Fellow. Justin serves as Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force and will soon be at Walter Reed Medical Center. He previously served as Chair of the SNMMI In-Training and currently serves as Chair of the Early Career Professionals Committee as well as Secretary for the Academic Council. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, his trip was delayed, so we were thrilled to welcome him to DC this year.
▫ Angela Weiler, CNMT, PET, RT(N), was chosen as the 2022 Henkin Fellow. Angela is the Nuclear Medicine Technology Program Director at the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse and Wisconsin TAG representative. Angela has also been appointed to the SNMMI-TS-Workforce Pipeline, PET/MR, Nuclear Medicine Week, and Student and Graduate Committees. Similar to Justin, due to Covid-19 restrictions, her trip was delayed, and we are thrilled she was able to join us this year in DC.
All fellows participated in our Annual Hill Day where they had the opportunity to meet with several legislative offices. Throughout the week, the Fellows met with SNMMI leadership and senior staff, as well as, representatives from various related organizations like ASTRO, ACR and MITA.
The Fellows also met with the following federal agencies during their visit—the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Department of Energy (DOE), National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
To learn more about the Henkin Fellowship program, please click here.
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Other News:
▫ Coalition Hill Day
On May 17, the SNMMI Advocacy team joined with several stakeholder organizations including MITA and CORAR to promote support for the FIND Act. We met with the following offices:
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- Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC)
- Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)
- Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
- Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Senator Todd Young (R-IN)
- Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO)
- Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO)
- Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
- Senator John Thune (R-SD)
- Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
- Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)
- Senator Kirsten Sinema (I-AZ)
- Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ)
- Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO)
- Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
- Senator Kathy Castor (D-FL)
- Senator Kim Schrier (D-WA)
- Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK)
- Senator Steve Daines (R-MT)
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- Representative Carol Miller (R-WV)
- Representative Michelle Steel (R-CA)
- Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY)
- Representative Thomas Kean (R-NJ)
- Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN)
- Representative Kelly Armstrong (R-ND)
- Representative Troy Balderson (R-OH)
- Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC)
- Representative Greg Pence (R-IN)
- Representative Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
- Representative Ben Allen (R-GA)
- Representative Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)
- Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO)
- Representative Dan Kildee (D-MI)
- Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
- Representative Judy Chu (D-CA)
- Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA)
- Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL)
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▫ NRC Releases Proposed Draft Guidance on Patient Release Protocol
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently released proposed patient release guidelines titled the “Release of Patients Administered Radioactive Material” as a supplement resource to the regulatory guidance 10 CFR 35.75 with comments open until August 20.
More specifically, the proposed guidance (DG) 8061 revises Section 2 of the Regulatory Guide 8.39 concerning the acceptable parameters of the release of patients following a medical procedure that involves the administration of unsealed byproduct material, such as radiopharmaceuticals, or implants that contain radioactive material.”
SNMMI is currently reviewing the draft guidance and plans to submit comments.
To view the proposed DG, you can do so here: NRC Releases Proposed Draft Guidance On Patient Release Protocol
▫ NRC Preliminary Proposed Rule Comments on Medical Event Reporting/Extravasation Due July 18 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) also recently held a public meeting to answer questions related to the preliminary proposed rule on medical event reporting/extravasation. SNMMI will submit comments and the rulemaking process is expected to be completed by December 2024.
To view the proposed rule and/or submit comments, click here.
▫ SNMMI Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL June 23-27
There's still time to register to attend virtually with access to a variety of live-streamed sessions to watch virtually as they happen and all sessions on-demand following the meeting for 90 days! Register now!
As always, if you have questions, please reach out to our advocacy team HPRA@Advocacy.org.
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