Medicare patients would be able to directly access audiologists without a referral from a medical doctor under bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Reps. Tom Rice (R-SC) and Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) on Tuesday.
The Audiology Patient Choice Act would provide Medicare Part B patients the same direct access to audiologists that many private insurance plans and federal plans, including Medicare Advantage, already offer.
“My goal is to create policies that give South Carolinians and all Americans access to high quality, efficient health care services under Medicare,” Rice said. “The Audiology Patient Choice Act will cut red tape and streamline policy so that Medicare patients can receive necessary care in a more convenient way.”
Hearing loss is the third most common chronic condition among adults in the United States, behind only diabetes and cancer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports.
“Medicare users, who are suffering from a hearing disorder, should be able to receive medical attention from an audiologist of their choosing without any hoops to jump through,” Jenkins said. “The Audiology Patient Choice Act will help solve this particular issue by allowing our seniors to directly choose their audiologist without a written recommendation from a medical doctor. This will create more choices and freedoms for our seniors — a common sense, bipartisan solution.”
U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA), who introduced the bill with Jenkins and Rice, said the measure would improve senior access to safe, quality care.