RESTON, VIRGINIA — The Board of Directors of the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) announced yesterday that it has voted to endorse the Audiology Patient Choice Act (APCA) on the condition that it include language to provide audiologists with the ability to opt-out of Medicare.
According to the announcement, the AAA board feels that the modified legislation “supports our long-term goal of professional autonomy and provides audiologists and patients with important protections given the uncertainty of future health-care coverage, payment, and reimbursement”.
Listening to its Membership
Based upon a statement put out by AAA on December 20, the organization said that over the past year it has listened to its membership’s divergent views, both supporting and opposing the legislation.
A review and analysis was said to have been conducted by AAA’s various groups and committees to better understand the complexities regarding implementation and what the profession of audiology would actually look like should the bill be signed into law.
The board has expressed its strong feeling that the “opt-out provision” is a necessity in the legislation to protect audiologists from some potential uncertainties regarding how CMS might implement the APCA if enacted into law.
The opt-out provision allows for private contracts between providers and patients to give beneficiaries the choice of seeing providers who do not accept Medicare.
In the statement, AAA says its endorsement of APCA with slight changes to the bill’s language “represents our sincere desire to move forward on a path of collaboration with the Academy of Doctors of Audiology”.
Source: American Academy of Audiology
