Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

Chapter 5: 2017 – 2021

working on more than 2,000 state legislative and regulatory proposals. During this timeframe, many of the state legislative efforts proposed health insurance coverage of hearing aids. Many of these bills included only audiologists and/or hearing aid dispensers for hearing assessments and for the fitting, service, and sale of hearing aids. The Academy, in conjunction with the State Trackers, the state otolaryngology societies, and the state medical associations, continued to advocate for otolaryngologists to be included via amendments to the legislation Scope of practice, medical liability, telehealth, insurance coverage, work force shortages, budget, and economic threats also continued in the state legislatures on major issues impacting the specialty. Additionally, ongoing since 2018, the AAO-HNS worked with the American Medical Association (AMA) to craft amendatory language that clarified and improved the proposed draft of the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact (ASLP-IC). Wherever possible the Academy worked with state otolaryngology societies and state medical societies to urge state legislators to add the AAO-HNS/ AMA amendments to the bill. The proposed ASLP-IC was distinctly different than most of the other health professional licensure compacts. It was a “privilege to practice” compact that would give legal authority for the practice of audiology/speech pathology in a remote state without an additional license. This topic and others will continue to be ongoing state advocacy issues that the Academy, the Board of Governors Socioeconomic and Grassroots Committee, state otolaryngology societies, and state medical societies will face in the years to come. Advocacy in Action A constant on the reimbursement chopping block was E/M codes. In 2018, the AAO-HNS opposed CMS proposals to collapse payments for E/M office visit codes and implement Modifier 25 reductions that would negatively impact otolaryngology practices. Again in 2020, the Academy opposed the CMS proposal in the 2021 Physician Fee Schedule on the value of E/M codes in the global surgery package that would further negatively impact otolaryngology practices.

AAO-HNS members followed the AAO-HNS/F 2019 Leadership Forum & BOG Spring Meeting with a trip to Capitol Hill to discuss topics like surprise billing, prior authorization, and more.

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