ASHA Advocate: November 12, 2024

Last Tuesday's elections ended highly competitive races across the country. The results will have short- and long-term implications for ASHA's advocacy efforts to advance federal and state policy priorities for audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Although it will take some time to understand the full impact of the elections on our advocacy, there are some definitive takeaways that will shape the policy and political landscape in the coming months and years.

Learn more about what we know and how you can advocate for your profession now and in the future.

Also, register for our free, live webinar, Election 2024: Post-Election Policy and Political Outlook, hosted by ASHA-PAC.

On November 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule. As expected, CMS finalized the 2.8% cut but also clarified that audiology and speech-language pathology CPT codes will remain on the temporarily authorized telehealth services list in 2025. While this is a promising development, Congress still needs to pass legislation extending telehealth coverage of clinical specialties including audiology and speech-language pathology.

What are the next steps for ASHA members?

1. Check out our summary of the MPFS final rule.
2. Ask your representatives to support the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act to fully reverse the 2.8% payment cut.
3. Ask your representatives to make audiologists and SLPs permanent Medicare telehealth providers to ensure your ability to provide telehealth services in 2025.*
4. Educate others on the impact of these issues, and urge your friends and family to support your advocacy efforts by contacting their representatives.

*Your advocacy made a difference! Following a flood of action from ASHA Advocacy and members, including a petition that gathered 4,343 signatures [PDF], CMS decided to continue telehealth coverage for audiology and speech-language pathology CPT codes into 2025. We are thrilled that CMS reversed course, but Congress still needs to act to protect your ability to provide telehealth services. That's why we're still advocating for permanent telehealth coverage!

• Advocacy win! Pennsylvania passed PA HB 2268, which requires insurance plans to cover speech therapy for habilitative and rehabilitative childhood stuttering. ASHA submitted letters of support to the PA House [PDF] and PA Senate [PDF] while working with the Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
• Advocacy win! After telehealth resource sharing and meaningful conversations with the South Carolina Speech Language Hearing Association and ASHA-and after considering Medicare telehealth policy-South Carolina has decided to continue Medicaid coverage of speech therapy delivered via telehealth.
• Convened the Friends of the Congressional Hearing Health Caucus, which ASHA chairs, to discuss issues important to a broad range of hearing health stakeholders, including Medicare payment policy and telehealth authority, consumer access to hearing aid batteries, and a congressional proposal to restructure the National Institutes of Health.
• Staff held a call with the ASHA State Education Advocacy Leaders to share updates on their activities in states.
• ASHA-PAC hosted a webinar on the pre-election policy and political forecast. Watch the recording, and sign up for the next webinar, "Election 2024: Post-Election Policy and Political Forecast," to learn more about how ASHA-PAC supports you.
• Submitted a letter of support for Massachusetts' regulations to implement provisional licensure [PDF] in the state, which would allow clinical fellows to fulfill licensing requirements as Medicare providers.
• Submitted comments to the West Virginia legislature opposing expanding the scope of practice of hearing aid dealers [PDF] to include services inconsistent with their education and training, such as tinnitus management, cerumen management, and auditory processing.
• Submitted comments to the Nevada state licensing board on the regulations governing SLPAs and their supervisors [PDF].
• ASHA Advocacy staff member Tim Boyd attended the annual Oklahoma Speech-Language-Hearing Association (OSHA) conference to co-host a meeting with legislators and advocates to discuss the importance of school hearing screenings. The discussion focused on considerations for mandating hearing screening in Oklahoma schools.
• Dr. Elise Davis-McFarland (2019 ASHA president) and ASHA Senior Director of State Affairs Doanne Ward-Williams participated in the Early Childhood Intervention Personnel Center for Equity Partners meeting. The meeting was focused on early intervention/early childhood special education materials, resources, and tools to enhance curriculum modules, briefs and case studies, and cross disciplinary materials. Many other organizations committed to early intervention and early childhood special education also attended the meeting.

Interested in seeing other comment letters ASHA has submitted? Visit our website.