Following efforts by Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03), last week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its list of eligible telehealth services to include 24 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes covering key services provided by audiologists and speech-language pathologists.
With this new guidance, audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) will be able to provide more telehealth care for Medicare beneficiaries through the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Last October, Rep. Axne led a bipartisan letter urging CMS to permit audiologists and SLPs to offer more telehealth services for seniors on Medicare – including diagnosing the cause and severity of hearing loss as well as evaluating and treating a range of speech, swallowing, language, and cognitive disorders.
“I’m pleased to see CMS taking this step to help more older Iowans access the vital health services through telehealth,” said Rep. Axne. “Helping folks on Medicare treat conditions like hearing loss and speech disorders from the comfort of home is not only medically beneficial, it’s also key to preventing feelings of isolation that are unfortunately all too common. I’ll continue fighting in Washington to make sure Iowans have access to the care they need as we work together to put the pandemic behind us.”
During the coronavirus pandemic, Rep. Axne has been a strong advocate for securing more access to telehealth services for Iowans, an important option to ensure care is provided while avoiding transmission of COVID-19.
Last April, Rep. Axne introduced the bipartisan Emergency COVID Telehealth Response Act to ensure that physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, audiologists, and clinical social workers can receive telehealth reimbursement rates from CMS.
Following the introduction of that bill, CMS announced an expansion and clarification of telehealth coverage for four of these key therapeutic services.
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