Academy, ADA, and ASHA Support Critical Medicare Audiology Legislation

The American Academy of Audiology, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) enthusiastically endorse the Medicare Audiology Access Improvement Act of 2025, bipartisan legislation introduced today by U.S. Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and U.S. Representative Kevin Mullin (D-CA) that will remove unnecessary barriers to access to audiology services for seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries.

The Medicare Audiology Access Improvement Act will:

• Eliminate pre-treatment order requirements so beneficiaries have streamlined access to audiologists, saving seniors out-of-pocket costs for extra office visits.
• Reclassify audiologists as practitioners under the Medicare statute, enabling services to be furnished through telehealth beyond the current September 30, 2025, expiration of such authority.
• Support continuity of care by authorizing audiologists to be reimbursed for the Medicare-covered diagnostic and treatment services that they are licensed to provide.

We look forward to advancing the Medicare Audiology Access Improvement Act and ensuring that audiologists can provide the full range of Medicare-covered diagnostic and treatment services that correspond to their scope of practice, just as they do under other programs and payers, so that seniors receive more appropriate, timely, and cost-effective audiologic care.

The Academy, ASHA, and ADA thank Representatives Bilirakis and Mullin for introducing this legislation and for recognizing that audiologists are expertly educated and uniquely qualified to evaluate, diagnose, manage, and treat hearing and balance conditions that lead to depression, social isolation, dementia, and other serious health conditions that impact millions of seniors. Our groups will continue to closely collaborate to build support for the enactment of the Medicare Audiology Access Improvement Act and encourage our members and stakeholders to advocate for its support.