By Susan Pilch
This article is a part of the March/April 2020, Volume 32, Number 2, Audiology Today issue. 2019 was a busy year in the area of advocacy—and 2020 shows no sign of slowing down. In 2019, the Academy came together with the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to draft text, secure congressional champions, and lobby additional support for the Medicare Audiology Access and Services Act of 2019 (H.R. 4056, S. 2446)—otherwise referred to as the “joint audiology bill.” This legislation would grant audiologists “practitioner” status in Medicare, remove the physician-order requirement, and allow audiologists to provide and be reimbursed for diagnostic and treatment services. Since its introduction, this legislation has attracted support from both sides of the aisle. At the end of 2019, the Academy worked with congressional staff to get Medicare “practitioner” status and “treatment services” added to a Medicare hearing aid bill. This bill was ultimately included in H.R. 3—the House drug-pricing package—that passed the full House of Representatives on December 12.
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