Skip to content
American Academy of Audiology
  • PRACTICE RESOURCES
    • Practice Guidelines and Standards
    • Coding
    • Medicare/Medicaid
    • Compliance
    • Quality Payment Program
  • EDUCATION & EVENTS
    • Event Calendar
    • Continuing Education
    • Online Learning and Certificate Programs
    • Research Grants and Scholarships
    • Faculty and Preceptor Resources
  • AAA ANNUAL CONVENTION
    • Attend
    • Program and Events
    • Exhibit Hall
    • Exhibit and Sponsorship Opportunities
    • About
  • NEWS & PUBLICATIONS
    • News
    • Audiology Today
    • Journal of the American Academy of Audiology
    • Advertising
    • Permissions and Reprints
    • Press and Media Information
  • CAREERS
    • Career Center
    • Certification
    • Become an Audiologist
    • Doctoral Programs in Audiology
    • Recruiting
    • New Professional Toolkit
  • ADVOCACY
    • Legislative and Regulatory Activities
      • State Affairs
      • Federal Affairs
    • Legislative Action Center
    • Government Relations News
  • CONSUMERS
    • What Is an Audiologist
    • Hearing and Balance Symptoms and Conditions
    • Managing Hearing Loss
    • Seniors and Hearing Loss
    • Children and Hearing Loss
    • OTC Hearing Aid
  • ABOUT THE ACADEMY
    • Leadership
    • Committees and Task Forces
    • Get Involved
    • Honors and Awards
    • Sponsorships and Corporate Partners
    • Contact Us
  • MEMBERSHIP
    • Benefits
    • Ethics
    • Member Directory
    • Membership Renewals
FacebookTwitterLinkedinYoutubeInstagram
  • Students
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • Renew
American Academy of Audiology
Member Login
  • PRACTICE RESOURCES
    • Practice Guidelines and Standards
    • Coding
    • Medicare/Medicaid
    • Compliance
    • Quality Payment Program
  • EDUCATION & EVENTS
    • Event Calendar
    • Continuing Education
    • Online Learning and Certificate Programs
    • Research Grants and Scholarships
    • Faculty and Preceptor Resources
  • AAA ANNUAL CONVENTION
    • Attend
    • Program and Events
    • Exhibit Hall
    • Exhibit and Sponsorship Opportunities
    • About
  • NEWS & PUBLICATIONS
    • News
    • Audiology Today
    • Journal of the American Academy of Audiology
    • Advertising
    • Permissions and Reprints
    • Press and Media Information
  • CAREERS
    • Career Center
    • Certification
    • Become an Audiologist
    • Doctoral Programs in Audiology
    • Recruiting
    • New Professional Toolkit
  • ADVOCACY
    • Legislative and Regulatory Activities
      • State Affairs
      • Federal Affairs
    • Legislative Action Center
    • Government Relations News
  • CONSUMERS
    • What Is an Audiologist
    • Hearing and Balance Symptoms and Conditions
    • Managing Hearing Loss
    • Seniors and Hearing Loss
    • Children and Hearing Loss
    • OTC Hearing Aid
  • ABOUT THE ACADEMY
    • Leadership
    • Committees and Task Forces
    • Get Involved
    • Honors and Awards
    • Sponsorships and Corporate Partners
    • Contact Us
  • MEMBERSHIP
    • Benefits
    • Ethics
    • Member Directory
    • Membership Renewals
December 23, 2024

Congress Avoids Shutdown with Continuing Resolution

  • Government Relations News

This past weekend, Congress passed and the president signed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through March 14, 2025. This CR was a scaled-back version that was first agreed to last week by the Republican and Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives. When the deal fell apart last Wednesday, it looked like a government shutdown was looming. However, Congress passed a CR that contains $110 billion for hurricane relief and an extension of the farm bill. The rest of the CR is almost identical to last Thursday’s failed package, which includes funding for community health centers through March 31. It also would extend waivers for telehealth in Medicare and hospital-at-home programs through the end of March.

It would also delay cuts to disproportionate share hospitals, which care for a large number of low-income patients, until April 1. The Affordable Care Act called for the cuts, but Congress delayed them from taking effect.

The package taps the Medicare Improvement Fund to help pay for some of the three-month extenders.

Several provisions that were part of the prior agreement with Democrats are no longer in the bill, including:

  • An extension of rules allowing high-deductible health plans to cover telehealth before patients hit their deductibles, a move that would impact access to virtual care for tens of millions of Americans.
  • Reauthorizations of the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) Act to fight the opioid epidemic and the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act.
  • An overhaul of drug patent rules to address “patent thickets,” or overlapping patents that critics have said stifle competition.
  • An extension of an incentive program to develop rare drugs for children.
  • An overhaul of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) that would have delinked the reimbursement PBMs receive in Medicare from the list price of drugs, and cracked down on so-called “spread pricing” in Medicaid. It would also have added transparency requirements for PBMs in the commercial market.
  • A 2.5 percent boost to Medicare reimbursements for doctors to help offset a 2.83 percent cut finalized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for 2025, and an extension through 2027 of a 3.53 percent boost for physicians participating in an alternative payment model.
  • Potential building blocks for changing the way Medicare reimburses hospital services—a unique national provider identifier for claims to indicate whether care was delivered in an outpatient setting. The provision would have laid the groundwork for equalizing what the government pays hospitals and outpatient clinics for the same services.

While it is disappointing that the final CR did not include the Medicare Audiology Access Improvement Act, the Academy will work diligently with the 119th Congress to pass this necessary bill.

Share this

Related Posts

Medicaid in Focus: What Audiologists Need to Know Now

AAA, ADA, and ASHA Respond to False Claims about Medicare Audiology Legislation

Congress Passes One Big Beautiful Bill Act Amid Major Medicaid Overhaul

Recent Posts

Government Relations News

Medicaid in Focus: What Audiologists Need to Know Now

With the recent changes to Medicaid, the Academy is preparing audiologists with the new one-pager, “Audiology in Medicaid”, an exclusive member resource designed to educate on…

Read More
Academy News

American Academy of Audiology Clinical Consensus Statement: Assessment of Vestibular Function in the Pediatric Population

Authors: Violette Lavender, AuD, Kristen Janky, PhD, Katheryn Bachmann, PhD, Melissa Caine, AuD, Micheal Castiglione, AuD, Guangwei Zhou, ScD The American Academy of Audiology Clinical…

Read More
Coding and Reimbursement

CMS Releases CY 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center Proposed Rule

On July 15, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the calendar year (CY) 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System proposed rule,…

Read More
wave-mark

Join the Academy

Academy members receive many benefits for professional development, practice management, and community development.

Become a Member
COMM24-Academy_Website_Graphics-revised_logo(W)

American Academy of Audiology
11480 Commerce Park Drive
Suite 220
Reston, VA 20191

Tel: 703-790-8466
Fax: 703-790-8631

  • Practice Resources
  • Education and Events
  • News and Publications
  • Careers
  • Advocacy
  • About the Academy
  • Consumers and Patients
  • Students
  • Donate
  • Get Involved
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Antitrust Policy and Guidelines
  • Terms of Use Policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Sitemap

© Copyright 2025 American Academy of Audiology

Website by Yoko Co

This content is an exclusive benefit for American Academy of Audiology members.

If you’re a member, log in and you’ll get immediate access.

 

Member Login

 

If you’re not yet a member, you’ll be interested to know that joining not only gives you access to top-notch resources like this one, but also invitations to member-only events, inclusion in the member directory, participation in professional forums, and access to patient resources, tools, and continuing education. Join today!

Scroll To Top
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. To learn more, please see our Privacy Policy.