Academy Board President, Bopanna Ballachanda, PhD, and the rest of the Academy Board of Directors spent the day on October 3, 2023, on Capitol Hill meeting with their elected officials to advocate for the Medicare Audiology Access Improvement Act.
This legislation would modernize Medicare treatment of audiologists and audiology services. Specifically, the legislation would completely remove the physician referral requirement, reclassify audiologists from “suppliers’ to “practitioners,” and allow audiologists to provide treatments services. In addition, this legislation would also add audiologists as “practitioners” to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs).
To date, this legislation has been introduced in the Senate (S.2377) by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Rand Paul (K-KY. The legislation also is co-sponsored by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Angus King (I-ME). Companion legislation is slated to be introduced in the House by Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and Matt Cartwright (D-PA).
Related Posts
CMS Issues Final Rule to Improve Access, Accountability, and Transparency in Medicaid Managed Care
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) recently issued a final rule aimed at improving access to care, accountability and transparency for the more than 70…
April 2024 State Legislative Update
In early April, as 19 state legislatures concluded their sessions for the year, a flurry of legislative activity marked the landscape, particularly in audiology and…
Medicare Advantage Plans Now Required to Inform Beneficiaries of Hearing Benefits
On April 4, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that updates the Medicare Advantage Program for 2025. In…