{"id":2044,"date":"2020-01-01T13:10:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-01T20:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rockymountainearcenter.fm1.dev\/?p=2044"},"modified":"2022-11-01T13:11:59","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T19:11:59","slug":"support-maasa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rockymountainearcenter.com\/support-maasa\/","title":{"rendered":"Support the Medicare Audiologist Access and Services Act"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Together, let\u2019s make hearing and balance care more available to all.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019d love to have your support for the proposed&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/116th-congress\/house-bill\/4056\/text\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Medicare Audiologist Access and Services Act<\/a>&nbsp;(MAASA)! This groundbreaking bipartisan legislation in Congress could make it easier for community members to access the quality hearing care they need, and you can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Did you know?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>An estimated one-third of adults over age 65 live with disabling hearing loss, per the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/deafness-and-hearing-loss\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">World Health Organization<\/a>, yet only a fraction of those who could benefit from solutions such as hearing aids actually use them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does lack of access play a role in some cases?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Possibly. The good news is that MAASA \u2014 which builds on a prior proposal, the Audiology Patient Choice Act, considered in 2018 \u2014 may open needed hearing and balance evaluation and treatment to more people nationwide, helping folks improve not only their communication and vestibular health but overall wellness and quality of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The proposal involves two identical bills in the House and Senate \u2014 H.R. 4056 and S. 2446<\/strong>, respectively. In a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.warren.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/senators-warren-paul-and-rep-rice-reintroduce-bipartisan-bicameral-legislation-to-ensure-better-access-to-hearing-health-care-services\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">joint statement<\/a>&nbsp;from Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren\u2019s office, Republican Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) noted, \u201cSeniors who suffer from hearing conditions shouldn\u2019t have to jump through hoops to see their preferred audiologist. [MAASA] cuts through the red tape to help Medicare patients access quality, affordable care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Specifically, the proposed law:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Facilitates direct access for audiology services, eliminating the requirement for a physician order<\/li><li>Allows audiologists to be paid for all services \u2014 including treatment \u2014 rather than just diagnostics<\/li><li>Changes the status of audiologists within Medicare from \u201csupplier\u201d to \u201cpractitioner\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why does it matter?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically anyone can seek an audiologist\u2019s care without a physician order, but such an order is required for Medicare Part B participants. This creates a potential barrier for people 65 and older who need professional hearing and balance help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If enacted, the legislation would remove this hurdle, empowering patients with more choice in finding and selecting qualified, licensed professionals for Medicare-covered audiology services. Medicare Part B participants would be able to walk through our doors just as their privately insured peers \u2014 and those with Medicare Advantage or VA benefits \u2014 can.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You can help widen access to hearing care for yourself and your loved ones by supporting this important legislation.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.chooseaudiology.org\/resources\/congressional-connect\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Academy of Doctors of Audiology\u2019s letter campaign<\/a>&nbsp;makes it quick and easy to make your voice heard with just a few clicks on your keyboard. So don\u2019t wait.&nbsp;<strong>Please join us in this critical effort today!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Together, let\u2019s make hearing and balance care more available to all. We\u2019d love to have your support for the proposed&nbsp;Medicare Audiologist Access and Services Act&nbsp;(MAASA)! This groundbreaking bipartisan legislation in Congress could make it easier for community members to access the quality hearing care they need, and you can help. Did you know? An estimated&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rockymountainearcenter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rockymountainearcenter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rockymountainearcenter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rockymountainearcenter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rockymountainearcenter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rockymountainearcenter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2044\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rockymountainearcenter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rockymountainearcenter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rockymountainearcenter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}