Safeguarding Teleaudiology Access
What is needed is legislation to secure Medicare coverage of all telehealth, including teleaudiology, for the long term.
Tag: medicare
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CPT Codes, MAASA, Scope of Practice, Medicare, and More: An Interview with Robert Fifer, PhD
As insurance coverage for hearing care services continues to grow and assume greater importance, so do the the myriad Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes that practices must use for reimbursement. But who actually creates these codes, and how are they established? Robert Fifer, PhD, an audiologist in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, is one of the leading experts in CPT codes in hearing care and has been working with professional organizations in this area for nearly 30 years.
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How to Manage in Managed Care, Part 2
While provider participation in managed care remains optional, managed care is now an integral part of US healthcare, and hearing care as a supplemental benefit continues to grow in private and public health plans. Part 1 (published in September) of this 3-part series was a primer on health insurance and managed care. In Part 2, we investigate the recent growth of managed care and the expansion of supplemental benefits such as dental, vision, and hearing care and common perceptions and criticisms of managed care among hearing healthcare providers.
Bipartisanship? It Could Be Possible with Telehealth
Now with the pandemic in retreat, lawmakers are considering the appropriate scope of telehealth services, reimbursement policies, and patient access. HIA’s Bridget Dobyan contends that, in a rare area of bipartansanship, US legislators could be on the threshold of a transformative time in health policy and the delivery of healthcare.
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A Comment on Biden’s Recent Executive Order Regarding Hearing Care
Recently, Good Morning America (ABC) aired a story about a recent announcement from the Biden administration regarding hearing aids. According to the story, the Biden administration has issued an executive order directed to the Department of Health and Human Services to do two things. First, to issue plans to “combat price gouging” regarding hearing aid costs within 45 days and second, to take action within 120 days to propose getting hearing aids available over the counter.
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Biden Executive Order Looks at Cost of Hearing Aids
According to “NPR,” the orders includes plans to allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter at pharmacies, much like Obama administration efforts that strived to make hearing aids less like pricy medical devices and as easy to purchase as reading glasses.
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Act Expands Medicare to Cover Hearing Aids, Exams
US Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Chair of the House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee, announced that he is leading 76 Members of Congress in introducing the “Medicare Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act“ to expand the care Medicare provides.
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Oticon’s Gary Rosenblum Appointed HIA Chair
Elected in the spring of 2017, Brandon Sawalich, President and CEO, Starkey, now hands over the Chairmanship of the Hearing Industries Association (HIA) to Gary Rosenblum, President, Oticon, Inc, HIA announced. The members of HIA elected Rosenblum unanimously to this position.
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AAA, ADA, ASHA to Hold Town Hall Event on ‘MAASA’ May 26
The organizations invite all members of the audiology community to join them for a town hall event “Securing the Future of Audiology: Collaboration in Action,” on Wednesday, May 26th, at 7:00 PM EDT.
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U of Miami Researchers Presented Research at CI2021
From the impact of COVID-19 on parents, to speech differences between English- and Spanish-learners, and advanced ear surgery techniques, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine hearing professionals presented their latest studies at CI2021, the annual conference of the American Cochlear Implant (ACI) Alliance, from April 28 to May 1.
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Comorbidities and Hearing Care
We need to celebrate the victories when we can. The progress made in creating awareness about the links between diabetes and hearing loss has been impressive.
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Diabetes and Hearing Loss
Researchers examining the link between hearing loss and lifestyle factors believe that hearing healthcare has an important role in diabetes care and management. And now the American Diabetes Association, the CDC, and others are starting to agree…
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Bill Postponing Medicare Cuts Expected to Become Law
The action extends a moratorium preventing reductions in reimbursement for audiology and speech-language pathology services, which were scheduled for implementation on April 1, according to ASHA.
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Expanding Access to Hearing Care
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published the ‘World Report on Hearing’ complete with a multi-faceted strategy for increasing access to hearing healthcare. HR interviews Amyn Amlani regarding his opinions on matters such as Medicare and financing options.
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Study Shows Hearing Improvement with Esteem Implant
Envoy Medical Corporation, a hearing health company focused on providing innovative technologies across the hearing loss spectrum, announced an independent study that was published online in ‘The Journal of Laryngology & Otology.’ The study found that the fully implanted Esteem osseointegrated active middle ear implant (AMEI) showed “statistically significant improvements in post-operative hearing results,” according to Envoy.
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AAA, ADA, and ASHA Announce Support for ‘MAASA’ 2021
The American Academy of Audiology (AAA), the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) announced that they have endorsed this legislation as a “top priority to ensure expedient and optimal hearing and balance health care for the older adult population in the United States.”
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HIA Releases Results of Hearing Loss Survey
New research announced by the Hearing Industries Association (HIA) reveals that 4 out of 5 Americans consider hearing loss serious, but ignoring the problem is more common than you may think. Fewer than 16% of adults ages 20-69 who need a hearing aid use one. That number almost doubles to 30% for adults over age 70 who need a hearing aid but don’t use one, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).
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Medicare Payments for Hearing Care Procedures: A 14-year Review
This 14-year review of Medicare reimbursement and demographic data by audiology leaders Ian Windmill, PhD, and Barry Freeman, PhD, is designed to help inform budgetary or productivity decisions within hearing care practices and support initiatives related to payments at the state or federal level.
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