A bill making its way through the California state legislature could significantly impact medical imaging equipment leases.

The California Radiological Society recently spearheaded the passage of S.B. 736 out of the state's Assembly Business and Professions Committee by a vote of 6-3. The bill prohibits physicians from billing a client of a third party payor for CT, PET, or MRI if those services were not actually performed by the physician or within their practice.

Specifically, S.B. 736 addresses leasing arrangements where referring physicians lease time on certain imaging equipment then bill insurance companies for the technical component of the imaging studies. The referring physician then pockets the difference between the leasing arrangement fee and the insurance reimbursement. The bill requires radiological facilities or imaging centers performing the technical component technical component for PET, CT, and MRI to directly bill the actual provider and not pay back to the referring physician.

S.B. 736 is scheduled to move onto the Assembly Appropriations Committee when the California assembly returns in August. The American College of Radiology applauds the efforts of the California Radiological Society in championing this bill.