House Passes Bill to Extend Telehealth Authority for Audiologists and SLPs
July 27, 2022
Today, the House of Representatives passed the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act of 2022 (H.R. 4040), which would extend Medicare telepractice authority for audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) through December 31, 2024.
The bill also would:
- waive geographic and originating site restrictions for Medicare telehealth services;
- continue expanded authority for federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics to offer telehealth services; and
- extend coverage and reimbursement for audio-only telehealth services under Medicare.
ASHA previously endorsed [PDF] the Connecting Rural Telehealth to the Future Act (H.R. 7876), which would extend Medicare telehealth authorization through 2024 as a step toward permanent telehealth authority for audiologists and SLPs.
While supportive of this legislation, ASHA is working toward securing permanent Medicare telehealth authority by supporting the Expanded Telehealth Access Act (H.R. 2168/S. 3193), which would add audiologists and SLPs to the list of permanent eligible Medicare telehealth providers. Take action now to urge your elected officials to give audiologists and SLPs permanent telehealth authority.
Questions?
Contact Josh Krantz, ASHA’s director of federal affairs, health care, at jkrantz@asha.org.
