One of the most noteworthy moments of President Obama’s State of the Union address earlier this week was the announcement that Vice President Joe Biden would be leading the administration’s efforts toward its “moonshot” of curing cancer. 

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published its final breast cancer screening recommendations this week, officially giving biennial mammograms for women ages 50 to 74 a “B” grade.

The American College of Radiology (ACR) published a letter to CMS acting administrator Andy Slavitt before the holidays, summarizing its thoughts on 14 different issues related to the imaging industry. 

Missouri is one of only five states where radiologic technologists can perform procedures without any sort of required license or training about medical radiation safety, patient positioning, or basic radiologic science physics. However, a bill introduced by state representative Galen Higdon on Dec. 2 could change all of that in the near future. 

There’s been a lot of big business news in the imaging world this year, including historic business deals, new headline-grabbing standards, and the continued trend of reimbursements being tied to value.

The American College of Radiology (ACR) has issued a statement applauding Congress for passing the $1.1 trillion, 2,000-plus page Omnibus Spending Bill late last week.

The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) has released a statement praising Congress for including the Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screenings (PALS) Act in the $1.1 trillion, 2,000-plus page Omnibus Spending Bill announced earlier this week.

CMS published a reminder this week that the informal review period for the 2016 Value-Based Payment Modifier ends Dec. 16, 2015.