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(ROCKVILLE, MD-Oct. 3, 2003) The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the The American Academy of Audiology (AAA) are joining forces and urging Congress to sponsor legislation that provides direct access to audiology services.
The organizations have sent joint letters to the House and Senate sponsors of the "Hearing Health Accessibility Act of 2003" (H.R. 2821 and S. 1647). The joint letters, signed by the presidents of both organizations, thank Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO), Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), Representative Jim Ryun (R-KS), and Representative Lois Capps (D-CA) for their leadership in introducing legislation that would expand access to hearing health care services by giving Medicare beneficiaries the option of going directly to a qualified audiologist for hearing and balance diagnostic tests.
“Direct access to audiologists avoids unnecessary costs, increased waiting time and inefficient use of physician resources,” said ASHA president Glenda Ochsner, PhD, CCC-SLP. “Having both physicians and audiologists as entry points to the hearing health care system would greatly improve access to hearing care, especially for Medicare beneficiaries in underserved areas and low-income beneficiaries who may be deterred by the cost of a physician visit.”
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 110,000 audiologists, speech, language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders.
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