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Plan would re-examine regulation of radiation technology professionals
KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: January 15, 2020
A state senator has worked with hospital and radiology professional groups to develop regulation of radiation technology professionals and address counter-productive areas of current law.
Tipp City Sen. Stephen Huffman, a Republican, introduced late last year the measure as a means of allowing health practitioners to provide the best services to patients in an efficient and effective manner.
Filed as Senate Bill 236, the bill tackles a particular section of the Ohio Revised Code that provides the state health director no discretion to employ standards any less stringent than the "Suggested State Regulations for Control of Radiation" prepared by the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors Inc.
"Ohio's hands are inappropriately tied to a private, non-profit member organization," Huffman said during testimony before Senate peers seated for the Health, Human Services and Medicaid Committee. "Senate Bill 236 would require the director to consider those recommendations that are suggested by this private group to determine if they are appropriate in Ohio."
Specifically, the bill would require the director to adopt rules that consider the suggested recommendations of the program directors' group and various federal sources, in addition to reports of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements and relevant standards of the American National Standards Institute.
SB 236 also seeks to address what Huffman characterizes as inefficiency within the scope of practice of nuclear medicine technologists and radiographers.
"Currently, the documenting of contrast and radiopharmaceuticals administered by radiographers and nuclear medicine technologists can be entered into an electronic medical record only after a second prescription is ordered just for that documentation," the lawmaker said. "The prescription requirement for documentation into an electronic medical record is unnecessary."
The bill would establish that the documenting of these orders may be processed using an institution's clinical guidelines, which are established by the clinical leadership of the institution, he added.
Analysis provided that the action is in addition to the following activities that these medical professionals are licensed to perform:
Radiographer - operating ionizing radiation-generating equipment, administering contrast, and determining procedure positioning and the dosage of ionizing radiation, all in order to perform a comprehensive scope of radiology procedures.
Nuclear medicine technologist - preparing and administering radio-pharmaceuticals to human beings and conducting in vivo or in vitro detection and measurement of radioactivity for medical purposes.
"These changes would in no way increase any provider's scope of practice, but instead clarify what is already being done," Huffman said. "I believe this legislation is smart for Ohio and will ensure patients are receiving the most effective care possible."
A single fellow senator has signed on as a cosponsor of the bill, which had not been scheduled a second hearing at time of publication.
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New law this year designed to strengthen retirement savings
ELISSA COLLOPY | The Daily Reporter
Published: Fri 1/10/2020
Retirement is an ever-changing landscape. What used to be retirement at 62 is now 67, and some are steering clear of traditional ways of saving for their Golden Years.
A new law that took effect on Jan. 1 has changed some retirement rules. The SECURE Act - which stands for "Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement" - put numerous provisions in place in hopes of strengthening retirement security, according to Chairman Richard Neal.
This act offers small businesses tax incentives to set up automatic enrollment in retirement plans for its workers, or allows them to join multiple employer plans. In addition, the plan also eliminates the maximum age cap for contributions to traditional individual retirement accounts.
The legislation also allows long-term part-time workers to participate in 401(k) plans by having employers have a dual eligibility requirement under which an employee must complete either a one year of service requirement or three consecutive years of service where the employee completes at least 500 hours of service, according to the document.
The SECURE Act also expands 529 education savings accounts to cover costs associated with registered apprenticeships, homeschooling, up to $10,000 of qualified student loan repayments including those for siblings, and private elementary, secondary, or religious schools.
The passing of the act may also result in an increase of Roth accounts, said Sean Williams, a financial advisor at Sojourn Wealth Advisory.
Part of the law eliminates "stretch IRAs," which allowed individuals who inherited qualified accounts, like individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans, to take required distributions over their lifespans. Under the SECURE Act, non-spousal inheritors will need to withdraw all of an inherited accounts assets within 10 years.
Another non-traditional route to retirement saving is utilizing a Health Savings Account for the long haul.
HSAs are tax-advantageous accounts that allow workers to save, invest and withdraw money tax-free if used for qualified medical expenses.
With the rising cost of healthcare for those without an employer-sponsored plan, contributing to an HSA and not touching the money until retirement could ease a hefty burden.
According to Fidelity Investments, the average 65-year-old couple retiring in 2019 could expect to spend $285,000 in retirement for health care costs alone, which does not include long-term care.
And some people won't want to retire at all- according to a 2019 Merrill Lynch study, nearly half of retirees say they have or plan to work during their retirement.
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