Portable Ultrasound Reimbursement Equity Act of 2025
Key claim: The bill would require Medicare to cover ultrasound tests performed at a beneficiary’s home and to make separate payments for portable ultrasound services on the same basis as portable X-ray services.
Abstract
(S1168 · 119th Congress) Portable Ultrasound Reimbursement Equity Act of 2025 This bill provides for Medicare coverage of ultrasound tests performed at a beneficiary’s home. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must provide for separate payments for portable ultrasound services in the same manner and to the same extent as for portable X-ray services. Latest action (2025-03-27): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Why this matters
The bill would close a Medicare payment gap by treating portable ultrasound like portable X-ray, enabling separate payment for home-based imaging that today often is not separately reimbursed. For homebound beneficiaries and the suppliers that serve them, this could expand access to diagnostic imaging without requiring a facility visit, while creating a new Medicare payment stream modeled on an established framework.