ASHA Advocate: September 27, 2024

Advocacy win! The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a bill called the Telehealth Modernization Act [PDF] last week that includes a two-year extension of Medicare telehealth authority for audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs).

While this is another important step toward our ultimate goal of achieving permanent telehealth authority for audiologists and SLPs, our job is not done! The House and Senate will need to act on this extension before December 31 in order for Medicare beneficiaries to maintain access to telehealth services beyond the end of this year.

Since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) did not include audiology and speech-language pathology telehealth services in its 2025 proposed rule, ASHA's Advocacy staff and members are fighting hard for audiologists and SLPs to be able to provide telehealth services in 2025 and beyond:

• We submitted a petition [PDF] with 4,432 signatures from audiologists and SLPs to CMS
• ASHA Advocacy submitted a comment letter to CMS [PDF] on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule
• ASHA members sent over 360 letters to members of Congress urging them to support a telehealth service provision
• ASHA staff and volunteer members took to Capitol Hill to speak with federal legislators about a variety of topics, including permanent telehealth authority.

It's unlikely that additional congressional action on telehealth will happen before the November elections, which gives us more time to continue advocating!

Thank you to every advocate who has supported telehealth! Your voices are helping to make a difference. If you haven't already, join our advocacy efforts and Take Action now!

Did you know? Many insurers model Medicare's guidelines, which means Medicare's telehealth coverage-continuing or ending-could impact what other payers decide to do in 2025.