ASHA Update Regarding Ongoing Discussions With hi HealthInnovations
Sunday, 11 December 2011
From ASHA:
We wanted to follow up on the November 14 e-mail from Chief Staff Officer for Audiology Vic Gladstone regarding ASHA’s discussions with hi HealthInnovations, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, about their plans to offer hearing aids over the Internet with no out-of-pocket costs to certain UnitedHealth Medicare Advantage members in Florida as well as direct-to-consumer hearing aids for people outside their network.
ASHA had a second call with Dr. Lisa Tseng, CEO of hi HealthInnovations, and other members of UnitedHealth Group and hi HealthInnovations on December 1. During that call, ASHA stressed a number of points, including:
the need to have a controlled listening environment when conducting hearing testing;
the key role of audiologists in any process that involves the fitting and dispensing of a hearing aid;
the Association’s continued interest in working with UnitedHealth Group and hi HealthInnovations to help them develop a hearing benefit that enables their members to get the most appropriate hearing services from qualified providers.
Dr. Tseng agreed that it would be helpful to both organizations to have further discussions. We will keep members updated as ASHA continues the dialogue with hi HealthInnovations and the FDA.
If you have questions about this issue, please reply to audiology@asha.org.
ASHA Update: Student to Empowered Professional Mentoring Program
Tuesday, 06 September 2011
Stay a step ahead of the crowd with the S.T.E.P. mentoring program!
Update on Compliance Requirements for Medicare In-the-Room Physician Supervision: Videostroboscopy and Nasopharyngoscopy
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) determined that, effective January 1, 2011, a physician must be in the room when a speech-language pathologist performs a videostroboscopy or nasopharyngoscopy procedure (CPT 31579, 92511). The decision was made as the result of a practitioner’s inquiry to a CMS regional office regarding Medicare supervisory requirements.
The new requirement is not currently available on the national CMS Web site. However, reference to the supervision requirement should be available on all Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) Web sites. An example of the supervision level display is on the Trailblazer MAC fee schedule Web site which, incidentally, can be used to request geographically adjusted fees for any locality.
Select Year (2011), State (any), Locality (any)
Insert procedure code (31579 or 92511), Modifier (none)
Click on “Search”
31579 or 92511 fee information appears
Scroll down to “Indicators”
See “Physician Supervision of Diagnostic Procedures”
Click on question mark adjacent to “03” for a description of the 03 level of supervision: “Procedure must be performed under the personal supervision of a physician.” The regulatory definition of personal supervision is “in the room.”
CMS has not released an explanation regarding this ruling, nor has a separate announcement been released. Furthermore, CMS did not request information from ASHA or the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) before making this decision. ASHA, jointly with AAO-HNS, has written CMS protesting the stringent nature of the policy and the isolated method in which the decision was made. The letter recommends a lower level of supervision such as the physician being available in the office suite.
FAQs Regarding Compliance
Does the supervising physician need to be an otolaryngologist? No, but for hospital outpatients the physician must be able to perform the procedure (i.e., have the specific training). For non-hospital settings the Medicare requirement does not specify a specialist but states "physician."
There are times when the patient referred for the examination is not a patient of the otolaryngologists in our office. What is their responsibility? The fact that the patient is not being seen by a physician in the practice is not relevant to this issue. The same rules apply whether the patient was referred to the practice specifically for the procedure or is a patient under the care of physicians in the practice or hospital. See question #1.
Can the supervising physician be a resident?
No. According to the CMS Division of Practitioner Services a resident in a teaching setting under the Medicare program may not be a supervising physician. This applies to diagnostic tests as well as other services.
What documentation is necessary to indicate that a physician was present? CMS has not established documentation requirements.
I’m employed at a hospital. Who can provide guidance about complying with the new supervision requirements? Your hospital compliance officer should have guidance regarding Medicare physician supervision requirements.
How can I keep informed of the latest developments? We will use ASHA Headlines to notify members of new developments including assistance in advocacy, if needed. To subscribe to ASHA Headlines, go to ASHA’s Web site and insert "Headlines" in the search box. Follow the subscribe instructions listed.
If you have any questions about the 2011 change in Medicare requirements for videostroboscopy and nasopharyngoscopy supervision, please contact reimbursement@asha.org.
What are ASHA’s Advisory Councils and What Do They Do?
Thursday, 11 November 2010
In ASHA’s 2007 Governance Restructure Plan (LC 1-2007), ASHA’s leadership was reconfigured and its Legislative Council (per its own vote) was ended. ASHA established its Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Council and its Audiology Advisory Council to serve in an advisory capacity to the ASHA Board of Directors (BOD). The BOD has 15 members and is the single governing body of ASHA. The two advisory councils, each composed of 53 elected members, were created to identify and discuss the critical and/or emergent issues of concern to Association members and to the two professions. The information and/or recommendations provided by the Advisory Councils are used by the BOD to help inform decisions regarding the programs and services that should be provided for members and supported by Association resources. ASHA’s Advisory Councils may be thought of as standing focus groups. ASHA’s Advisory Councils provide valuable information on how groups of people think or feel about a particular topic, provide a way to evaluate existing Association programs, and help improve the planning and design of new programs. (For more information, read the Advisory Council FAQS, ASHA, 2009.)
Capitol Hill Advocacy!
On March 18-21, 2010, ASHA Advisory Councils met in Rockville, Maryland. Prior to Advisory Council meetings, councilors attended a Capitol Hill Briefing and Advocacy Training before their scheduled Capitol Hill visits with their states’ legislators and senators on March 19. Capitol Hill was brimming with activity, since the House vote on health care reform was eminent. Jeanne Wilcox, Ph.D. and ASHA VP for Accreditation in SLP, and Laurene Flitner, ASHA Advisory Council representative, attended meetings with staff of Arizona’s legislators. During their legislative visits, councilors advocated and requested support for a number of bills important to Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists, including:
Repeal of the Medicare Outpatient Therapy Caps;
Recognition under Medicare law of the full scope of services provided by Audiologists (diagnostic and rehabilitative services);
Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit;
Inclusion of Speech-Language Pathologists in the Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) act;
Re-authorization of funding for the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Program; and
Medicare Telehealth Coverage for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology services.
Advisory Councils: Thinking Strategically and Creatively! ASHA Responds! During the Advisory Council meeting in March, councilors provided feedback to ASHA on a wide variety of topics. Council discussions, and some forthcoming BOD actions, included the following:
Feedback on ASHA’s financial issues and budget
BOD Action: Retained current dues structure for 2011 with no dues increase
Increase members’ awareness of the requirements for Certification Maintenance and ASHA web-based infrastructure supports
BOD Action: Placed link for certification maintenance on each ASHA member’s ‘my account’ and explored an automatic pass through for members meeting continuing education requirements, as recorded in the CE registry
Input on eligibility criteria for ASHA associate membership for Support Personnel in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (approved August, 2009)
BOD Action: Ongoing. (AZ Note: Arizona is one of 26 states that recognize SLP Assistants and one of 11 states offering training programs for them.)
Increasing voter participation in ASHA elections
BOD Action: A variety of efforts resulting in a 57% increase in 2010, over 2009
Support of ASHA practitioners whose impairments (e.g. substance abuse) affect their provision of services;
BOD Action: Incorporated the issue of ‘practitioners with impairments' into ethics education as part of a convention presentation in Philadelphia, as well as proceeded with other ideas related to balancing professional support and consumer protection.
Restructuring of ASHA’s special interest divisions
BOD Action: Ongoing
Work-setting issues regarding encroachment & role-ambiguity for SLPs
BOD Action: Ongoing
Being proactive … the future is on its way!
Since the spring meeting, the 2010 ASHA Advisory Councils have provided feedback and recommendations on 15 relevant strategic planning trends for our professions, as first identified by the 2009 Advisory Councils from a document entitled: Designing Your Future: Key Trends, Challenges, and Choices Facing Association and Nonprofit Leaders ( American Society of Association Executives and the Center for Association Leadership, 2008).
Baby Boomer retirement and unretirement; talent shortages
Generation Y (Millennials): digital, “civic,” and connected
Redefining work–life balance
Education falling behind employers’ expectations
Increasing political and economic impact of diversity—minorities now one third of the U.S. population—and future U.S. growth fueled by rising immigration
Rising life expectancy, aging global populations
Funding and chronic diseases shaping health care challenges
Growing popularity of online education relative to that of classroom-based courses
Internet continues transforming government, governance, and business
Social media explosion creating new approaches for engagement, communication, publishing and marketing
Growing financial market risks and uncertainty
Rising U.S personal and federal indebtedness; Changing patterns of U.S. income, wealth and savings
Global talent shortages increasing with economic growth; Uneven economic growth
Diminishing U.S. political influence internationally; Changing patterns of global governance; Growing influence of non-state actors
Global consumption patterns challenge earth's resource capacity
Thank you!
ASHA’s Board of Directors (BOD) encourages feedback and direct contact with the BOD regarding issues impacting the professions. Access the BOD by using “In Touch” at: www.asha.org/about/governance/membersintouch.htm
Arizona ASHA Advisory Council members are Laurene Flitner, SLP (flitner@cox.net) and Lylis Olsen, Audiology (lylisolsen@msn.com). Thank you for giving us the privilege of participating at this level of our professional association.
During this period, the following ASHA members and /or certificate holders were presented the Award for Continuing Education (ACE) by the Continuing Education Board. The ACE is a formal recognition of professionals who have demonstrated their commitment to lifelong learning by earning 7.0 CEUs (70 contact hours) within a 36-month period. For those individuals who have received more than one ACE, the number of awards is indicated in parentheses.
Awardee Name
Award Presented
Awardee City
Erin Aafedt
March 2010
Prescott Valley
Lenora Anderson
February 2010
Goodyear
Michele Carroll
February 2010
Scottsdale
Suzanne Clyburn
March 2010
Surprise
Rene Crain
March 2010
Prescott
Robert Drew
February 2010
Prescott
Tanya Enns
January 2010
Gilbert
Cynthia Fraher
January 2010
Prescott
Lauri Glasshoff
February 2010
Tucson
Kristin Gommel Gier
February 2010
Scottsdale
Jill Haaser
February 2010
Scottsdale
Helen Jaffa
February 2010
Mesa
Karen Johnson
March 2010
Tucson
Patricia Kasten
February 2010
Laveen
Sally Peterson-Falzone
January 2010
Tucson
Cheryl Runge
March 2010
Phoenix
Gabrielle Sadowsky
January 2010
Mesa
Susan Schlappi
March 2010
Glendale
Gregory Swingle
March 2010
Tucson
Susan Tonkin
March 2010
Phoenix
Anita Werner
March 2010
Paradise Valley
Lori Williams
March 2010
Phoenix
ASHA: Telepractice for SLPs and Audiologists
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Information on Telepractice from ASHA.org:
Key Points
ASHA defines telepractice as "the application of telecommunications
technology to delivery of professional services at a distance by linking
clinician to client, or clinician to clinician, for assessment,
intervention, and/or consultation."
ASHA's position is that "telepractice is an appropriate model of
service delivery for the professions of speech-language pathology [and
audiology]. Telepractice may be used to overcome barriers of access to
services caused by distance, unavailability of specialists and/or
subspecialists, and impaired mobility."
Telepractice offers "the potential to extend clinical services to
remote, rural, and underserved populations, and to culturally and
linguistically diverse populations."
"The use of telepractice does not remove any existing
responsibilities in delivering services, including adherence to the Code
of Ethics, Scope of Practice, state and federal laws (e.g., licensure,
HIPAA, etc.), and ASHA policy documents on professional practices."
Therefore, "the quality of services delivered via telepractice must
be consistent with the quality of services delivered face-to-face."
ASHA Update on AMA Scope of Practice Data Series: Audiologists
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.
Proposed DSM-V Changes Affecting SLPs
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
Individuals demonstrating significant contributions to clinical science and practice over a 20-year career are eligible for nomination by fellow professionals to receive a recognition award. Supported by the Kleffner Fund. Nominations are now being accepted. Download the guidelines and nomination materials [PDF].
Please note that all applications are PDF documents and will
require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.
ASHA News
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.
Medicare Audit in Arizona
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.
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.
IOM Lists Hearing Loss Among Top 25 Priorities
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
Special Interest Div 4, Fluency & Fluency Disorders, 15th Annual Leadership & Clinical Conference
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.
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.
More than 500 SLPs Attend ASHA’s Annual Health Care Conference/Business Institute
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.
Talking Literacy with Acclaimed Author David Baldacci
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.
ASHA Advocacy Triggers Major Policy Shift For Federal Employees and Families
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).
Better Hearing and Speech Month Is Coming!... Are You Ready?
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.
ASHFoundation Awards a Total of Nearly $200,000 to 45 Individuals
Tuesday, 05 February 2008
(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.
ASHFoundation Receives a $268,000 Department of Education Grant for Doctoral Scholarships
Monday, 14 January 2008
(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.
