ASHA News
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ASHA Update on AMA Scope of Practice Data Series: Audiologists |
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Monday, 24 May 2010 |
Information from ASHA:
We have had some questions regarding the status of AMA’s Scope of Practice Data Series: Audiologists, so I wanted to provide everyone with an update.
We understand that the AMA has created “issue briefs” for some of their Scope of Practice documents for use by their members at the state and local levels. To date, AMA has not made public any issue briefs related to audiology, and we don’t know if any have been developed. To counteract the information provided in the original AMA Scope of Practice document, ASHA is creating materials for members to use at the state and local levels. We also continue to work with the Coalition for Patient Rights (CPR), an organization that ASHA helped establish in 2006 that includes more than 35 organizations representing more than one million nonphysician, health-care providers. The CPR has discussed meeting with the AMA on this issue. While we and other members of the CPR have reservations, we believe there is benefit to opening a dialogue with the AMA to discuss areas of common interest and concern. We are beginning to work on setting up such a meeting and will keep you posted on the outcomes of our discussions with the AMA.
I also wanted to update you about another issue of prime importance to audiologists, namely, comprehensive Medicare coverage of audiology services. As I’m sure you know, ASHA is strongly advocating for improved public and private coverage and reimbursement policies for audiologists across the age span. This includes preventive, diagnostic, and habilitative and rehabilitative treatment services, and equipment. However, currently there is direct-access legislation before Congress that would create an audiology benefit that is strictly diagnostic in nature. ASHA is very uncomfortable with this legislation and believes the bill locks audiologists into a narrow diagnostic category that, if passed, would be extremely difficult to amend or change. In our view, a comprehensive Medicare audiologic benefit that includes both diagnostic and rehabilitative services is in the best long-term interest of the profession. This is a top advocacy priority for ASHA. We have prepared a brief Q&A ( http://www.asha.org/aud/Comprehensive-Medicare-Coverage-of-Audiology-Services/) that we hope will answer some of the questions you may have about this important issue. |
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Proposed DSM-V Changes Affecting SLPs |
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Friday, 16 April 2010 |
Dear Colleagues,
We want to alert you to an opportunity to participate in the review process for the upcoming fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). The DSM provides diagnostic criteria for classifying many communication and related disorders, so SLPs have a vested interest in the outcome of this revision process.
Urgent: The comment period is only open for a short time, so make your voice heard. You will need to review the proposed changes below and then go to www.dsm5.org to submit any comments by April 20, 2010.
Proposed DSM-V Changes Affecting SLPs
The revised Communication Disorders section has not yet been posted for public comment. We will e-mail you a second time as soon as that posting has occurred.
The following proposed changes that affect SLPs are up for comment:
Autism
- Subsuming pervasive developmental disorder into autism spectrum disorder. See the DSM-V rationale for more information on the proposed revision.
- Eliminating subcategories of autism (e.g., Asperger’s syndrome, Rett’s, childhood disintegrative disorder) due to lack of evidence for discrete categories.
- Changing the criteria for defining autism. The proposed definition of autism spectrum disorder includes two criteria: deficits in social communication and interactions and restrictive and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities.
Learning Disabilities
- Changing subcategories of learning disabilities (currently learning disorders) to dyslexia (currently reading disorder) and dyscalculalia (currently mathematics disorder), and eliminating the disorder of written expression as a subcategory. The proposed definition of dyslexia is limited to decoding and does not address reading comprehension.
Intellectual Disabilities
- Changing the definition of intellectual disabilities (currently mental retardation) and eliminating classification by severity (i.e., mild, moderate, severe, profound).
Cognitive Disorders
- Changing the category name Delirium, Dementia Amnestic, and Other Geriatric Cognitive Disorders to Neurocognitive Disorders. The subcategories include delirium, major neurocognitive disorder, and minor neurocognitive disorder. The new diagnostic criteria do not require memory impairment as a primary factor, recognizing that other cognitive areas may be more affected in disorders other than the Alzheimer’s disease subtype.
SLPs have been involved in an advisory capacity for some of the disorder areas, including communication disorders (language impairment, speech sound disorders, stuttering, voice disorders), learning disabilities, autism, and intellectual disabilities. Not all of the recommendations offered by advisory groups have been included in the posted revision.
The DSM, along with the ICD-9-CM, is widely used in the United States and other countries by a variety of professionals, agencies, and policy makers—including clinical practitioners, researchers, and third-party payers.
This is an important opportunity to weigh in on the diagnostic criteria used by other professionals for disorders SLPs treat.
Reminder
A second e-mail will be coming from ASHA as soon as the Communication Disorders section is posted. The deadline for comments for this section may be extended, but the deadline will still be tight. We wanted to make sure to get this on your agenda. For now, please go to www.dsm5.org to review the proposed changes and provide comments by April 20, 2010.
Thanks,
Diane R. Paul, PhD, CCC-SLP
Director
Clinical Issues in Speech-Language Pathology
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association |
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Wednesday, 03 March 2010 |
Senate Passes Extension of the Exceptions Process
Late last night, the Senate passed legislation to temporarily halt the 21% reduction in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and resume the therapy caps exceptions process. H.R. 4691, which passed in the House last week, was passed by the Senate through a vote of 78 to 19. This bill provides a short-term extension to the therapy caps exceptions process retroactive to January 1, 2010. The bill also extends the moratorium on the scheduled cut in the physician fee schedule. Both provisions are slated to expire on March 31, 2010. It is anticipated that President Obama will sign the bill later today.
Congress hopes to use this time to negotiate a slightly longer extension to expire at the end of 2010. ASHA, along with over 40 patient, consumer, and provider groups, participated in a press conference this morning on Capitol Hill thanking Congress for the short-term fix while shifting the focus to a long-term permanent solution for the therapy caps and physician fee schedule.
For more information regarding congressional action related to the therapy caps, please contact Stefanie Reeves by e-mail at sreeves@asha.org.
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Medicare Audit in Arizona |
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Wednesday, 30 September 2009 |
Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) to Begin Auditing Medicare Claims in October
After a three-year demonstration project, Medicare Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) will begin audits this fall that include ASHA member services. The RACs were mandated by the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 to identify improper payments made on health care services claims.
Audits of interest to speech-language pathologists have been approved for RAC Regions C –South and D- West for late summer/fall by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS); claims paid on or after October 1, 2007 will be screened in an automated process to detect when “untimed” procedure codes were billed more than once per day. The common speech-language pathology codes for evaluation and treatment of speech-language and dysphagia disorders are untimed, meaning that the code as one unit represents a session, regardless of the session length. While the RACs are free to examine most outpatient settings, including physician practices, hospital clinics will be the main focus. According to an earlier CMS demonstration project, hospitals have been lax in establishing edits to identify faulty claims and have not adequately trained practitioners in coding.
The states will initially be limited to: Region C - Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina; and Region D - Arizona, Montana, North and South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Additional information on the audits can be found on the CMS Web site (http://www.cms.hhs.gov/RAC).
Audiologists should also be ready for RAC audits. During the demonstration project RACs recovered $1.4 million for overpayment of vestibular function testing in Florida.
Audiologists and speech-language pathologists should review their documentation and coding policies in light of the RAC audits. Use ASHA’s coding resources, guidelines and policy statements for assistance in preparing claims. A comprehensive resource available on ASHA’s Web site is Medicare CPT Coding Rules for Audiology Services (http://www.asha.org/practice/reimbursement/medicare/Aud_coding_rules) and Medicare CPT Coding Rules for Speech-Language Pathology Services (http://www.asha.org/practice/reimbursement/medicare/SLP_coding_rules).
The current RACs are contracted to receive a bounty of 9 to 12.5% of the overpayments collected and underpayments found. For further information, contact Mark Kander, ASHA’s Director of Health Care Regulatory Analysis, at mkander@asha.org or 301-296-5669.
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IOM Lists Hearing Loss Among Top 25 Priorities |
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Monday, 06 July 2009 |
This week, an Institute of Medicine (IOM) panel released its 100 Initial Priority Topics for Comparative Effectiveness Research. Listed within the top 25 was a recommendation submitted by ASHA to compare the effectiveness of the different treatments for hearing loss in children and adults, especially individuals with diverse cultural, language, medical, and developmental backgrounds.
The recommendations were developed in response to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which provided funding of 1.1 billion to begin comparative effectiveness research and called on the IOM to develop research priorities. Although the priorities are not official policies of the IOM, the recommendations will likely influence where funding dollars will be allocated. There has been no additional information on which, if any of the top priorities will be funded, and how funds will be distributed for research.
For more information on comparative effectiveness research and IOM activities, please contact Rob Mullen, ASHA's Director for the National Center for Evidence Based Practice in Communications Disorders, at RMullen@asha.org. For additional information related to ARRA, please contact Ingrida Lusis, ASHA's Director of Federal and Political Advocacy, at ilusis@asha.org.
Sincerely,
Katie Bromley
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Director, Grassroots and Congressional Advocacy
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Special Interest Div 4, Fluency & Fluency Disorders, 15th Annual Leadership & Clinical Conference |
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Monday, 05 May 2008 |
Special Interest Division 4, Fluency and Fluency Disorders, is hosting its 15th Annual Leadership and Clinical Conference: Promoting Learning and Change in the Assessment and Treatment of Fluency Disorders.
When: June 20-22, 2008
Where: Phoenix, Arizona |
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May's BHSM Coming To National Public Radio |
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Friday, 18 April 2008 |
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Beginning the last week in April and for several weeks in May, more than 15 million weekly listeners of National Public Radio's (NPR) Morning Edition and The Diane Rehm Show, will hear 10-second radio spots that mention ASHA, May's Better Hearing and Speech Month, and ASHA's Web site.
To prepare for the upcoming promotion, a special "landing page" on the ASHA Web site was developed. The page will provide easy access to lay information about the speech-language pathology and audiology professions, and topics related to communication science. |
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More than 500 SLPs Attend ASHA’s Annual Health Care Conference/Business Institute |
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Tuesday, 15 April 2008 |
(Rockville, MD – April 11, 2008) The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association held its annual Health Care Conference/Business Institute in St. Louis, MO on April 5-6, 2008. Attended by more than 500 speech-language pathologists, the conference offered a unique combination of clinical and business topics for speech-language pathologists in health care and private practice settings. Dr. Susan Miller, founder of Voicetrainer LLC, a voice and communication consulting firm, and author of Be Heard the First Time: The Woman’s Guide to Powerful Speaking, gave the plenary address. She demonstrated how voice, posture, and non-verbal communication lead to positive or negative first impressions. |
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Talking Literacy with Acclaimed Author David Baldacci |
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Friday, 11 April 2008 |
(Rockville, MD – April 10, 2008) Literacy is the focus of a new podcast produced by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). In this 18-minute podcast award-winning author David Baldacci discusses literacy, one of our most fundamental life skills.
Literacy problems in the United States have become a major public health problem with serious educational consequences and ASHA strives to change this scenario with proper identification and intervention.
“Unless you have strong literacy skills you’re never going to be able to achieve your potential as a human being” says Baldacci, who is also co-founder of The Wish You Well Foundation which supports family literacy in the United States through development and expansion of new and existing literacy and educational programs. |
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ASHA Advocacy Triggers Major Policy Shift For Federal Employees and Families |
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Friday, 04 April 2008 |
OPM Call Letter To Carriers: Cover Hearing Aids and SGDs
(Rockville, MD-April 3, 2008) Advocacy by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has been reflected in the annual “call letter” that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sends to health plans with regard to coverage of federal workers. The letter for the 2009 federal government fiscal year urges insurance carriers to include expanded benefit coverage of audiologic professional services, hearing aids, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices such as speech generating devices (SGDs).
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Better Hearing and Speech Month Is Coming!... Are You Ready? |
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Thursday, 21 February 2008 |
Use May Is Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM) to educate your consumers, educators, referral sources, current clients, parents, and the media about the services you provide. Using the tagline “Helping People Communicate” for this year’s BHSM program, ASHA has developed nearly 60 promotional products to help you promote your services and the professions. Products include an all-new screen saver, customizable advertisements, BHSM specialty items, activity books, and so much more! Visit the BHSM page on the ASHA Web site http://www.asha.org/bhsm.htm to access the many free and for-sale BHSM products and resources. |
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ASHFoundation Awards a Total of Nearly $200,000 to 45 Individuals |
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Tuesday, 05 February 2008 |
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(Rockville, MD-February 1, 2008) The American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation (ASHFoundation) recently awarded a total of $185,000 to 45 individuals in support of groundbreaking research investigations, research travel stipends, doctoral and master’s education, and clinical developments. |
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ASHFoundation Receives a $268,000 Department of Education Grant for Doctoral Scholarships |
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Monday, 14 January 2008 |
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(Rockville, MD-January 4, 2008) With President Bush recently signing into law H.R. 2764, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation (ASHFoundation) has received a one-year and one-time grant of $268,000 from the U.S. Department of Education to address the critical shortage of doctoral level students studying in the field of communication sciences and disorders.
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ASHA One Of Six Organizations Nationally To Receive Prestigious ASAE Summit Award |
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Wednesday, 08 August 2007 |
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(Rockville, MD – July 20) The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is one of six associations nationally to be selected by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) to receive its prestigious 2007 Summit Award.
ASHA won the award for its Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) campaign which promotes hearing screening of newborns at birth. |
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U.S. House Passes SCHIP-Medicare Bill |
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Tuesday, 07 August 2007 |
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Dear Headliners:
U.S. House Passes SCHIP-Medicare Bill
Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the State Children’s Health Insurance and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act by a vote of 225 to 204. The CHAMP Act is broad healthcare legislation that would reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) (which provides health insurance to children from low-income families) and invest an additional $48 billion dollars in the program over a period of five years. The bill is controversial because of disagreements over the expansion of children’s health insurance, increase in the tobacco tax, and cuts in payments to Medicare managed care plans.
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School-Base SLPs Included in New Student Loan Forgiveness Program |
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Monday, 16 July 2007 |
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The U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007, which would reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA). The bill would eliminate nearly $19 billion in student loan lender subsidies and use the money to increase the maximum Pell Grant amount by $500 over five years and finance a series of measures aimed at making college loans more affordable.
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Monday, 18 June 2007 |
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ASHA Health Care Page
Includes information about the ASHA health care survey, Medicare,
management in the health care setting, setting specific information,
and ASHA Desk Reference Documents.
Health Care FAQs
Includes frequently asked questions about dysphagia,evaluating
treatment procedures products or programs, SLP Assistants, and general
FAQs.
Professional Practice Issues in Health Care
Includes
links to information on infection control, documentation in health
care, evidence based practice, patient safety, qualified providers, SLP
referral guidelines, productivity, and much more.
Setting Specific Resources
Includes
links to information on acute care hospitals, acute inpatient
rehabilitation, homecare, long term care, pediatric hospitals, NICU,
early intervention, and more.
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Tuesday, 05 June 2007 |
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The Committee on Honors is pleased to announce the following 2007 award recipients: |
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ASHA Leaders Lobby Capitol Hill for Medicare Supplier Status for Speech-Language Pathologists |
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Friday, 27 April 2007 |
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On Friday, March 23rd, 150 ASHA leaders visited their Senators and Representatives on Capitol Hill to lobby for Medicare supplier status for SLPs and other legislative priorities. Last year's visits by ASHA leadership resulted in over 110 co-sponsors for legislation important to ASHA members. This year, Senators Ensign (R-NV) and Landrieu (D-LA) had introduced supplier status legislation (S. 45). One immediate result of the leadership's Capitol Hill visits was the introduction of companion legislation in the House of Representatives, H.R. 1774, on March 29th. On Monday, April 2nd, another 40 ASHA members, who were attending the annual ASHA SLP conference on health care, visited their Senators and Representatives and asked them to cosponsor H.R.1774 and S.45.
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