On Friday, March 23rd, ASHA audiology and speech-language pathology leaders made over 400 visits on Capitol Hill to lobby for direct access to audiologists and early intervention services. Last year's visits by ASHA leadership resulted in over 110 co-sponsors for legislation important to ASHA members. One immediate impact of these Capitol Hill visits was the introduction of H.R. 1665, the Hearing Health Care Enhancement Act of 2007, as introduced by Representative Mike Ross (D-AR) and 14 other co-sponsors. A Senate companion bill is expected to be introduced by Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) in the near future.
This bipartisan legislation would allow Medicare beneficiaries the option of going directly to a qualified audiologist for hearing and balance diagnostic tests. Currently, Medicare beneficiaries with hearing loss or balance disorders are required to obtain a physician referral before seeing an audiologist. This legislation would align Medicare 'direct access' with programs administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which allow patients to see an audiologist without a physician referral.
Original co-sponsors of H.R. 1665 include, Representatives Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Vern Ehlers (R-MI), Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Stephanie Herseth (D-SD), Dale Kildee (D-MI), Nick Lampson (D-TX), Jim McGovern (D-MA), George Miller (D-CA), Jim Moran (D-VA), Ron Paul (R-TX), Jim Walsh (R-NY), and Bill Young (R-FL).
ASHA leaders also lobbied for H.R. 1198, the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act of 2007, as introduced by Representatives Lois Capps (D-CA) and Jim Walsh (R-NY), that would reauthorize grants to state EHDI programs for early intervention services and family support programs as well as FY2008 appropriations the federal EHDI programs.
Please contact your Representatives and urge them to co-sponsor this legislation. For Members of Congress who have already co-sponsored the bill, you will be able to automatically send them a thank you note for their leadership on this issue. For more information, please contact Deborah Darcy, ASHA's Director of Grassroots Advocacy, via e-mail at ddarcy@asha.org or by phone at 800-498-2071, ext. 4427.
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