# What This Bill Does: New Rules for Nerve and Muscle Tests Under Medicare

This bill creates new quality standards for two specific medical tests that Medicare covers: nerve conduction studies and needle electromyography tests. These are diagnostic procedures doctors use to figure out if someone has nerve or muscle problems. Right now, these tests can be performed in various settings with different levels of oversight. This bill says that starting in about three to four years, Medicare will only pay for these tests if they're done at facilities that meet specific quality requirements and have been officially accredited.

Here's what facilities will need to do to keep getting paid by Medicare. They'll need accreditation from an organization the government approves, and they'll have to follow strict rules: maintain quality control programs to ensure accurate results, use proper equipment that can display test results in real-time, and make sure the person performing needle electromyography tests has completed at least three months of specialized training. The results also have to be interpreted right there in the facility while the patient is still there, by the person who actually performed the test. The bill carves out an exception for a specific type of monitoring used during surgery, which won't have to follow these new rules.

To make all this work, the bill creates an advisory committee made up of doctors, physical therapists, patients, and other healthcare experts who will help the government figure out which accrediting organizations are trustworthy and what additional quality standards might be needed. The government has about two years to set up these accrediting organizations and write the detailed regulations explaining how everything will work. The stated goal is to reduce unnecessary treatments, prevent fraudulent billing, improve the accuracy of diagnoses, and cut down on patients needing repeat tests.

Electrodiagnostic Medicine Patient Protection and Fraud Elimination Act of 2025

Sessions, Pete

Electrodiagnostic Medicine Patient Protection and Fraud Elimination Act of 2025This bill requires, as a condition for Medicare payment, specified electrodiagnostic services to be furnished by qualified facilities that comply with accreditation, training, and other quality control requirements, as established under the bill.Specifically, the bill requires nerve conduction studies and needle electromyography tests to be furnished by facilities that are accredited by an organization that is approved by the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS). The accrediting organization must certify that the facility meets certain standards, including having a quality control program and requiring those who administer needle electromyography tests to have at least three months of specialized training.The bill also establishes an advisory committee to support the CMS in developing appropriate facility standards.