The Academy submitted comments on July 28, 2022, to commend the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on its efforts to modernize the cochlear implantation (CI) coverage policy for Medicare beneficiaries. The Academy provided support for the proposed decision to expand the National Coverage Determination policy by broadening the CI patient criteria to include individuals with aided sentence recognition scores up to 60 percent, instead of 40 percent.
In late March, the Academy and the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery submitted joint comments to endorse an expanded coverage determination (March 29, 2022). The comment letter included substantial evidence that CI is a well-established, non-experimental intervention that is appropriate for Medicare beneficiaries (and other adults) who receive limited benefit from hearing aids. A copy of the letter is available here.
A small workgroup of Academy members provided substantial input into the drafting of the initial comments and the focus of the final comment letter: Meagan Bachmann, AuD; Jessica Messersmith, PhD; Sarah Sydlowski, AuD, PhD MBA; and Viral Tejani, AuD, PhD.
The Academy recognizes that this coverage decision could significantly enhance clinical outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries with hearing loss.
Related Posts
Academy Endorses ACI Alliance Guidelines for Clinical Assessment and Management of Cochlear Implantation in Adults with SSD
The American Academy of Audiology, upon detailed appraisal of the recommendations and supporting evidence, has endorsed the American Cochlear Implant Alliance Task Force Guidelines for Clinical Assessment and Management of Adult Cochlear Implantation for Single-Sided Deafness (published in the November/December 2022 issue of Ear and Hearing). The Academy’s endorsement entails a formal review by the…
A Moment We’ll Never Forget
In 2022, AU Bankaitis, PhD, was chosen as the recipient of the Samuel F. Lybarger Industry Award, reserved for individuals who made important contributions to research, engineering, or technical achievements in audiology. Throughout her career, Dr. Bankaitis has created resource information on infection control, clinical issues, and hearing instrument consideration and is a “go-to” person…
We Promote Diversity and Inclusion
By Antony Ricardo Joseph and Deyanira Gonzalez Within the profession of audiology, there has been an increasing need for cultural competence and sensitivity across most work settings. This includes clinical research, graduate education, and health-care delivery. Specifically, cultural competence and sensitivity are fundamental to acknowledging and remediating the racial and ethnic disparities that have emerged…