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The article focuses on U.S. President George W. Bush's proposal for consumer-driven health care which is included in his fifth State of the Union address to Congress. Bush's proposition aims to strengthen the health savings account which allows individuals and small-business employees to purchase insurance that big businesses avail.

The article reports that the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is helping state organizations reply to an error in a letter by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, who advised all 50 U.S. state governors that under Medicaid, "speech therapy" is "optional."

The article offers information on the deficiencies in the speech-language services indicated by the medicaid audits in the U.S. Audits by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service revealed that states violated federal qualifications. States including Arizona and New Jersey, reportedly, continue to allow unqualified providers to deliver school-based speech-language pathology services to Medicaid-eligible students.

The article reports on the issue of Medicare fee cuts being discussed in the U.S. Congress. It states that the House of Representatives passed legislation H.R. 3961 in November 2009 which would prevent a scheduled 21.2% fee cut in the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, while the Senate failed to push a similar bill S. 1776. It notes that H.R. 3961 and S. 1776 call for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to change the fee schedule, including the relative value units (RVUs).

The article reports that audiologists have an updated Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code for canalith repositioning procedure (CRP). Reimbursement for audiologists doing CRP continues to be inequitable and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) continues to advocate for a suitable work value for the procedure.

The article discusses several of the changes in the year 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for Part B services, which was issued by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 30, 2008. The changes were caused by the directive that CMS remain "budget-neutral" if its total spending increases or decreases by more than $20 million. Changes in fees for speech-language pathologists and audiologists and policy changes for rehabilitation agencies are discussed.

This article describes the 2008 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule presented by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This schedule affects the reimbursement rates for audiology services, and the period of recertification for speech-language pathology services. This proposal puts audiology services in a professional category similar to other practitioner services. The American Academy of Audiology helped conduct a survey to determine these changes.

The article presents questions and answers related to the reimbursement for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices including the proper codes for AAC evaluation, treatment and devices under the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) and the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), reimbursement of non-dedicated devices, and the non-face-to-face bill for programming a ACC device.

The article focuses on the changes made in the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) from the American Medical Association. It says that the revised Medicare regulations, in which edits made by the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) will still be corrected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS), allow audiologists and health care professionals to bill up to three vestibular testing codes. Furthermore, corrections in the CPT errors and its corresponding codes are presented.

The article reports that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has added Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code 92520, "Laryngeal function studies" to the therapy code list.

The article offers information on the Current Procedural Terminology© (CPT) Category III codes which are associated with automated audiometry in the U.S. The American Medical Association (AMA) asserts that the codes' application to a service implies a new service, which is recorded for data collection. AMA adds that constant observation by an audiologist is required in computer-assisted devices for procedures to ensure the suitability of the data, which is opposite with automated.

The article reports that the director for provider and supplier enrollment at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) urged speech-language pathologists in private practice to use the Medicare Provider-Supplier Enrollment page on the CMS web site, which can be found at www.cms.hhs.gov/medicareprovidersupenroll, for enrollment.

The article reports on the update to Medicare audiology coverage policies in the U.S. which was announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The update includes significant clarifying language to the brief coverage description of 1973. The methods on audiological diagnostic testing are expanded from hearing and balance to include auditory processing, tinnitus and diagnostic programming of certain prosthetic devices.