[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 14, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S14401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Harkin, and Mr. 
        Menendez):
  S. 2352. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
provide Medicare beneficiaries greater choice with regard to accessing 
hearing health services and benefits; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Medicare 
Hearing Health Care Enhancement Act with my colleagues, Senators 
Harkin, Coleman, and Menendez. This legislation is the companion bill 
to legislation introduced in the House by Representative Mike Ross, 
with a number of cosponsors.
  This legislation will provide Medicare beneficiaries with the same 
hearing care options available to veterans and Federal employees, 
including every member of this body. Under this bill, Medicare 
beneficiaries who experience hearing problems will have the option of 
going directly to an audiologist, rather than first visiting a 
physician. This is the policy 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 direct access should be 
available to senior citizens in the Medicare program.
  More than 31 million Americans have some type of hearing problem, 
making hearing loss the third most common health problem in the U.S. 
Many of them are older Americans, and this statistic is fast increasing 
with the aging of the ``baby boomers.'' Yet half of all hearing 
impaired persons are under age 65. With 80 to 90 percent of hearing 
problems not medically or surgically treatable, it seems only 
reasonable that Medicare patients be allowed to consult with an 
audiologist without first seeing another health care provider. It is 
part of regular audiological practice to refer patients for medical 
management when clinical indicators are present.
  In 1992, the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, changed its health 
care policy to allow for the option of direct access to a licensed 
audiologist. The VA reports: ``the policy has provided and continues to 
provide high quality, cost effective, and successful hearing health 
care to veterans.'' The VA did not experience increased utilization of 
audiology services due to the policy change and instead found, ``the 
policy did not increase the number of visits beyond what would be 
expected in the aging veteran population.''
  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 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 of a large number of 
organizations including the American Academy of Audiology, the American 
Speech-Language and Hearing Association, the National Association of 
the Deaf and the National Rural Health Association. I commend this 
legislation to the attention of my colleagues and urge them to lend 
their support by cosponsoring this bill.
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