Academy President Teams Up with ASHA and ADA Counterparts on Capitol Hill

On March 20, the Academy President Bopanna Ballachanda, PhD, teamed up with the president of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) as well as the president of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) on Capitol Hill to advocate for audiologists and the patients they serve. Specifically, this group of leaders met with multiple members of Congress to garner additional support for the Medicare Audiology Access Improvement Act (MAAIA).  

This legislation will reclassify audiologists from “suppliers” to “practitioners,” allow audiologists to provide and be reimbursed for treatment services, and completely remove the physician referral requirement. This legislation will also add audiologists as practitioners in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs).

This legislation (S. 2377/H.R. 6445) aims to modernize how Medicare treats audiology. The legislation enjoys bipartisan support and also has been endorsed by the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), the National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC), the Hearing Industries Association (HIA), and the Vestibular Disorders Association (VeDA). The Academy, ASHA, and ADA have been working collaboratively to advance this legislation.