A few dozen radiation oncologists, patient advocates and lawmakers gathered on Capital Hill Thursday for a briefing on radiation oncology and to show support for the Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility and Excellence (CARE) in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Act.

The bill, sponsored by Reps Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) and John Barrow (D-Ga.), will likely be introduced into the House next week.

The dream of more than a decade, the CARE Act would require facilities seeking Medicare reimbursements for the technical component to attest that their radiologic technologists and radiation therapists meet minimum licensing standards. Currently, what training standards there are get mandated at the state level.

"A recent series of articles in the New York Times has raised concerns about the safety of medical examinations and treatments using ionizing radiation," Whitfield and Barrow said in a "Dear Colleague" letter circulated in Congress to draw more co-sponsors. "By setting minimum education and certification standards for the technical personnel involved in these procedures, Congress can address these concerns, assure patients that imaging and therapy personnel are qualified, and can be fiscally prudent with taxpayer dollars spent on these procedures,"

CARE bills have come up before Congress since 2000, when they were first pushed by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, but have never been passed.

ASRT said it didn't know how many co-sponsors the bill had yet, but its nearly 140,000 members are behind it and that it now has "great momentum."

"It’s a prime time for the bill right now and we believe that the efforts of everyone will pay off," Christine Lung, ASRT's vice president of government relations and public policy, told DOTmed News in an e-mailed statement.

At the meeting Thursday, Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC), a cancer survivor who was treated with radiation therapy, testified to the importance of encouraging innovation in the field.

"I can personally attest to the value of this cancer treatment," she said.

Around 40 people attended, according to the briefing's organizers.

At least half of all U.S. cancer patients are treated with radiation therapy, according to Dr. Constantine Mantz, a radiation oncologist with 21st Century Oncology who spoke for the Radiation Therapy Alliance, which helped organize the conference.

Sponsors of the briefing include the Radiation Therapy Alliance, American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the American Association for Physicists in Medicine, ASRT, U.S. Oncology, Siemens Healthcare, Varian Medical Equipment, Elekta, AdvaMed, Colorectal Oncology Alliance, American College of Radiation Oncology and the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance.

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