Message from our President:
NYSRS has been quite active in the first 2 months of the year. Following a series of NY Times Articles in December 2023 on the AI app “Chat GPT webinar,” immediate past president Keith Hentel MD MS FACR collaborated with several colleagues and quickly pulled together a webinar on the potential impact of ChatGPT on Radiology and the practice of medicine. With more than 70 fully engaged attendees, the session raised some challenging issues and stimulated more questions. Just recently, the Dr. Hentel and colleagues published an RSNA Editorial:
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Our Legislative Affairs Committee chairs Rob Rapoport MD FACR and Bonnie Litvack MD FACR have worked tirelessly with our lobbyists Kayla Bogdanowicz and Bob Reid on the proposed “wrongful death” legislation that was on the governor’s desk for signature in January. They collaborated with other medical societies and many of our members. Together we emphasized to Governor Kathy Hochul the serious potential harm to patients and providers should she sign the so-called “Wrongful Death” legislation sent for her signature. See the full description of that successful effort in the committee report below.
Rich Friedland MD FACR is leading a small team of NYSRS board members to develop and administer a membership survey, designed to clarify needs and expectations of our society. Once this is completed, we will convene a different small group that has volunteered to develop and produce a 1-minute video designed to clarify the value proposition for joining NYSRS to non-members.
Speaking of videos, we just completed our 3 month YouTube advertising campaign highlighting our 2022 videos designed for the general public to clarify the role of Radiologists and Radiation Oncologists in Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment:
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This work has produced over 54,000 views! We are building our YouTube channel and increasing awareness in ways we have never done before.
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We are excited about our All-member’s meeting April 1 in NYC, which will be the first in-person meeting since 2018, and will also be available remotely for those who are unable to join us in-person. We have a particularly engaging program led by Ruth Carlos MD and Kevin Beckford “From DEI to Health Equity: The Business Case and the Human Case.” We hope you will join us. Details and remote access link will be forthcoming as the meeting date draws near.
Finally, our Executive Director and Legal Counsel Peter Millock has informed us that he will be retiring from Nixon Peabody in June 2023. Peter has been instrumental in many of our operational and legal successes and has expressed his interest in continuing as our Executive Director as an independent contractor for at least a year. We would transition our General Counsel responsibilities to another member of the Nixon Peabody law firm, and the total cost of Executive Director and legal services would remain unchanged. After the board met in special session to discuss options, a small team of board members has formed a Succession Planning Team and already begun the due diligence necessary to create the conceptual and contractual path forward, for 2023 and beyond. We will keep you abreast of our progress.
As I have said in our last Newsletter, I appreciate hearing ideas, thoughts or concerns from any of our members. Several of you have done so in recent months, and I encourage you to be in touch with me at any time. [email protected] It is a real honor to work with this gifted and giving team to serve each member of NYSRS.
Bob Pizzutiello, MS FACR
President, NYSRS
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Legislative Affairs/ Government Affairs Committee |
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Governor Hochul Vetoes 2022 Wrongful Death Legislation
Just in time for the January 30th deadline, Governor Hochul vetoed the Wrongful Death Legislation (S74-A/A6770 -2022), bringing an end to months of advocacy by the Society and others in the medical and business communities. In an op-ed in the NY Daily News Governor Hochul stated “experts have highlighted concerns that the unintended consequences of this far-reaching, expansive legislation would be significant. It is reasonable to think that the legislation as drafted will drive up already-high health insurance premiums, adding significant costs for many sectors of our economy.”
The New York State Radiological Society diligently opposed this bill and advocated for its defeat. Efforts included an advertisement (below) in the New York outlet, Empire Report, which ran for over four weeks and was sponsored jointly with other medical specialty societies. The Society conducted many meetings to convey our concerns and opposition to this legislation which were bolstered by the grassroots mobilization of Society members by President Robert Pizzutiello and Government Affairs Chair Dr. Robert Rapoport. Society members took unprecedented action to deliver phone calls and letters to the Governor’s office seeking Governor Hochul’s veto of the bill.
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This legislation would have allowed more individuals to file lawsuits and seek emotional damages in wrongful death cases and expand the statute of limitations for such claims from two years to three-and-a-half years. This legislation would have greatly expanded the possible damages in a wrongful death action, exponentially increasing New York State’s already high medical liability insurance premiums. While estimates vary, one actuarial estimate found that passage of this legislation could further increase premiums by nearly 50%. This translates into tens of thousands of dollars in new costs for physicians and could make it impossible for many physicians to stay in practice.
The Society emphasized that this legislation would be irresponsible, given the current, severe healthcare shortages. Current law already allows the decedent’s estate and family members to bring separate actions for both economic damages and the pain and suffering caused to the decedent, making this bill unnecessary. In virtually all cases, it is the decedent’s family members who are the beneficiaries of these awards. In her veto message, Governor Hochul recognized the severe consequences this legislation would have, including overburdening an already overwhelmed healthcare system. Rather than enacting legislation that will drive more doctors out of New York State, Governor Hochul suggests a focus on implementing reforms that would bring about a more fair and balanced liability system. The Society will continue to advocate for medical liability reform to assure patients do not lose access to medical services and care.
We are grateful that through the efforts of the NYS Radiological Society, the Medical Society of the State of New York and other partnering medical specialties, we were successful in defeating this legislation. This, however, will not be the last threat to medicine and the Society must remain vigilant and engaged in our advocacy efforts.
Governor Hochul Proposes Physician Assistant Scope Expansion
As part of her SFY 2023-2024 Executive Budget proposal, Governor Hochul has included policy that would expand the scope of practice for physician assistants (PAs). The proposal would allow PAs to practice without the supervision of a physician under the following circumstances when the PA has practiced for more than 8,000 hours and has completed a DOH approved program and also meets one of the following critera:
- Is practicing primary care (non-surgical care in the fields of general pediatrics, general adult medicine, general geriatric medicine, general internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine)
OR
- Is employed by an Article 28 health system or hospital that determines the PA meets the qualifications of the medical staff bylaws and gives the PA privileges
Additionally, the proposal authorizes PAs to prescribe, dispense, order, administer, or procure items necessary to commence or complete a course of therapy. This includes the prescribing of controlled substances. PAs may also prescribe and order a patient specific order or non-patient specific regimen to a licensed pharmacist or registered professional nurse, for administering immunizations.
The New York State Radiological Society is strongly opposed to this proposal along with the Medical Society of the State of New York and other physician specialty organizations similar to prior proposals that would similarly expand PA scope of practice.
The Governor’s proposal to expand the scope of practice of PAs would be a significant divergence from the care model that has been in place in New York since inception and the risks to patient safety and increased healthcare costs have been well documented in other jurisdictions where they have been enacted. The Society plans to aggressively oppose this measure by issuing a Memorandum in Opposition and included it as a priority for our day of budget advocacy on March 1, 2023 when society members
met with key lawmakers and staff to express our concerns about this proposal and advance the Society’s other legislative priorities.
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2023 is shaping up to be a busy legislative year for New York State with potential changes to scope of practice for non-physician providers, provider liability, malpractice, pre-authorization, billing, reimbursement, insurance reform, and many others that will directly affect us all.
The NYS Political Action Committee is a non-partisan fund that allows our society to advocate effectively for the issues that impact us and our patients.
The good news is that for state politics a small amount goes a long way. Every donation is both needed and appreciated no matter what size.
Donations can be made to the NYS PAC by using the following link:
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Update on the Federal No Surprises Act
The Federal No Surprises Act (NSA) is intended to protect consumers from surprise medical bills by requiring private health plans to cover out-of-network claims and apply in-network cost sharing. It also prohibits doctors, hospitals, and other covered providers from billing patients more than the in-network cost sharing amount for these bills. The NSA also establishes a process for determining a fair payment based on what is customary for in network services for a given region. If the provider doesn’t agree with the price, it can dispute the established amount through an independent dispute resolution (IDR) process. Note, there are strong incentives for both plans and providers to either rely on the established price or on private negotiations, as the dispute negotiations are fairly costly, in the $200-500 range for a single case and $268 to $670 for multiple or “batch” determinations.
The intent of the law was to establish a fair price for services. Unfortunately, the CMS interpreted the law to use the Qualified Payment Amount (QPA) as the established price, which is based on the median price for the region, rather than a weighted average for the service, the amount most providers believe was the intent of the law. Using the QPA also allows for insurance companies to game the system by offering low price plans that may have many fewer subscribers compared to the larger subscriber group plans.
In response, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American College of Radiology brought a lawsuit against the federal government charging that the interim final rule on surprise medical billing goes against the language of the “No Surprises Act” and will ultimately harm patients and access to care.
Just recently, the American College of Radiology released the following statement in response to the Feb. 6 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruling that parts of the independent dispute resolution process in the Surprise Billing Final Rule violate the Administrative Procedure Act and are not consistent with the text and intent of the No Surprises Act by making the “qualifying payment amount” the primary factor in provider-payer out-of-network care payment disputes. The judge stated, "the Final Rule [Aug. 19, 2022]…continues to place a thumb on the scale for the QPA by requiring arbitrators to begin with the QPA and then imposing restrictions on the non-QPA factors that appear nowhere in the statute."
Jacqueline A. Bello, MD, FACR, chair of the American College of Radiology Board of Chancellors, stated the following:
“Patients and their providers are again the winners with this ruling. The American College of Radiology® will continue to work to ensure that the IDR process complies with the No Surprises Act and is accessible, fair and efficient.
“This victory, which does not affect patient protections or costs, and only impacts the insurer-provider payment dispute process, leaves work to be done. Providers, insurers, regulators, lawmakers and other stakeholders must work together to ensure that sensible, balanced, physician-informed and patient-centered solutions are implemented to ensure access to care as we continue to shield patients from surprise medical bills.”
Mark Adams, MD FACR
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Social Media / Communications Committee
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With the launch of this website, we aim to strengthen our society's online presence and enhance communication with our members. The website features include news and events. Please explore the website and let us know what you think ([email protected]).
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Concerning social media, please follow us on:
Ben Hentel, MD
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From the Counsel's Report |
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FTC Proposes Nationwide Ban on Non-Competes
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) proposed a regulation that would ban non-compete clauses for workers in all industries. The proposed regulation would require employers to rescind any non-compete clauses in their current employment contracts and to notify workers, including former employees, that any such non-compete clauses are no longer in effect. The proposed regulation defines “workers” to include employees, independent contractors, volunteers, interns, and externs. It would apply to all employers, regardless of size or industry. A key exception under the proposed regulation covers the sale of a business.
The proposed regulation would authorize the FTC to assess civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each instance when an employer entered into, attempted to enter into, or maintained a non-compete clause in a contract without a good faith basis to believe that the worker may legally be restricted by a non- compete clause.
The proposed FTC regulation would expressly supersede any state law that is less protective of workers but would allow states to impose restrictions that afford workers greater protection than the proposed regulation.
New York law does not prohibit non-compete clauses. New York courts have invalidated clauses that last too long or prohibit work in too vast a geographic area. Members of the State Legislature have introduced bills that would prohibit or limit non-compete clauses. The State Attorney General has issued guidance on non-compete clauses and has initiated lawsuits and investigations challenging non-compete clauses.
Peter Millock, Esq.
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The New York State Radiological Society annually encourages its members to work toward and apply for Fellowship in the American College of Radiology (ACR). Elevation to the status of Fellow of the ACR is one of the highest levels of recognition in the Radiology profession. Fellowship is given when there is evidence of distinctive accomplishment well beyond the high levels of achievement and service normally expected of all ACR members. Since its inception in 1923, the ACR has granted Fellowship to worthy individuals who have distinguished themselves with significant accomplishments in service, research, and/or teaching. The ACR’s archive of Fellows represents a veritable “Who’s Who” in the annals of radiology history.
More information of the "Path to ACR Fellowship" can be found at :
Ellen Wolf, MD FACR
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The NYSRS Foundation has continued to grow and expand its activities over the past year. Founded in 2018, the Foundation's mission is to fund education and training programs and initiatives in support of resident and early career radiologist development and leadership training, and in support of diversity and inclusion activities to achieve health equity.
The Foundation and its activities are funded through the generosity of the society and through charitable contributions of our members, We also thank our thank the following corporate sponsors for their support:
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Donating to the Foundation can be made in honor of individual(s) and is is a great way to recognize the successes of colleagues or to provide thanks to someone in our field. |
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The 2023 Spring All Members Meeting will be held on April 1, 2023, from 8 am – 12 pm.
From DEI to Health Equity: The Business Case and the Human Case
Ruth Carlos, MD, MS, FACR
Kevin Beckford
Followed by
Society & Practice Updates
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NYSRS Spring All Members Meeting
ACR Annual Meeting
NYSRS Fall Meeting
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April 1, 2023
May 6-10, 2023
October 14, 2023
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New York State Radiological Society, INC.
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