Dear Affiliate Leaders:
Recently the Medicare Access to Radiology Care Act, H.R. 3657 and S. 2641, was introduced in Congress. To assist with gaining support and cosponsors for the bills, ASRT asks that affiliate societies create letters of support that the MARCA lobbying team can distribute on Capitol Hill while visiting with lawmakers from your state.
To create the letters, please customize the highlighted areas in this support letter template with your affiliate society’s information. There is one template to personalize for federal representatives and one to personalize for federal senators in your state. We ask that you print the completed letter on your society’s letterhead and return it to ASRT by emailing governmentrelations@asrt.org by September 27.
In addition to writing letters of support, you can promote more activism by posting information on your affiliate website or social media platforms by asking your webmaster to use the codes provided in this document so the MARCA calls to action can be viewed easily. Instructions are provided in the document.
Please promote MARCA during your meetings. If you are conducting an in-person annual meeting, set up computers at convenient locations so your attendees can quickly send an email to their federal lawmakers. Templates have already been created for ease of use. Simply open your computer to the MARCA Advocacy Action Center page and ask attendees to enter their personal information on the engagement pages.
If you are meeting virtually, please take a few minutes to promote MARCA by showing attendees how to find information about MARCA and take action to save the radiologist assistant profession.
As an affiliate leader, you are the cornerstone of success for getting MARCA enacted. You can play a critical role in protecting this advanced pathway for all radiologic technologists.
These requests will only take a few minutes yet will have a lasting effect. Please don’t delay.
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Thank you for your leadership, your partnership and everything you do to promote and enhance our profession!
Sincerely,
ASRT Government Relations Department
Please note the documents will open in a new browser showing the document near the bottom of that page that you will need to download. If you have any problems opening the documents please contact us at governmentrelations@asrt.org.
The 2021 Newsletter for the Illinois State Society of Radiologic Technologists is now available: Back to School Edition
URGENT ACTION NEEDED!
Currently, there is legislation in California titled, “AB-1273 Interagency Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship: the Director of Consumer Affairs and the State Public Health Officer”. The JRCERT opposes CA AB1273 as currently drafted, specifically the “earn and learn” concept due to the negative impact it would impose on JRCERT accredited programs and the profession.
The “earn and learn” concept is on the job training (OJT) which allows students to secure a wage while working. JRCERT policy prohibits students from earning wages during clinical hours to guarantee students are not taking the place of qualified staff and are appropriately supervised during their clinical education. Additionally, this prevents the risk of liability to medical facilities due to unqualified individuals performing medical imaging and therapeutic procedures.
This bill would cause the profession to regress back to the antiquated method of educating radiologic science professionals through on the job training. A well-structured educational program that includes a competency-based curriculum assures students have the knowledge and skills for entry-level practitioners.