[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 10 (Thursday, February 3, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S982]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mr. DeWine, and Mr. Harkin):
  S. 277. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
provide for direct access to audiologists for Medicare beneficiaries, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Hearing 
Health Acessibility Act with our colleagues Senator DeWine and Senator 
Harkin. This legislation is the companion bill to legislation that was 
introduced in the House by Representative Jim Ryun, with a number of 
cosponsors.
  This legislation will, in short, provide Medicare beneficiaries with 
the option of direct access to audiology services, as is the case for 
the health care programs administered by the Department of Veterans 
Affairs and the Office of Personnel Management. Direct access works 
well for our veterans and for Federal employees, including Members of 
Congress, and should be available to senior citizens in the Medicare 
program.
  In 2003, the Congress in the Appropriations Conference Report number 
108-10 recommended that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services 
make this change. We have since learned from Mr. Joel Kaplan, Deputy 
Director, Office of Management and Budget, that CMS does not have the 
authority to do so under current law. Therefore, I hope that we can all 
agree that this is a common sense idea whose time has come, and move 
this legislation forward to enactment.
  Direct access would facilitate access to hearing care without 
expanding the scope of practice for audiologists. This legislation will 
make it easier for Medicare beneficiaries, particularly in rural 
America, to have the same high quality hearing care provided by the VA 
and OPM. It is also important to point out that both the Medicare and 
Medicaid programs now recognize State licensure as the appropriate 
standard for determining who is a qualified audiologist.
  This legislation enjoys the support the American Academy of 
Audiology, the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, and 
the Academy of Dispensing Audiologists. I commend this legislation to 
the attention of my colleagues.
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