,i  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ecjd  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #ca1 #bjad ,ms4
 ,jenkins 7for herself and ,mr4         
,cartwright7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 and
 in addition to the ,committee on ,ways 
and ,means1 for a period to be          
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to amend title ,,xviii of   
the ,social ,security ,act to provide   
for treatment of audiologists as        
physicians for purposes of furnishing   
audiology services under the ,medicare  
program1 to improve access to the       
audiology services available for        
coverage under the ,medicare program and
 to enable beneficiaries to have their  
choice of a qualified audiologist to    
provide such services1 and for other    
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  

may be cited as the ,audiology ,patient 
,choice ,act of #bjad4  #b4 ,findings   
,congress finds the following3  7#a7    
,hearing loss is the third most common  
chronic disorder for ,americans over    
#fe1 behind only arthritis and high     
blood pressure4  7#b7 ,individuals with 
mild hearing loss are three times more  
likely to experience a fall and falls   
are the leading cause of injury and     
death for ,americans over #fe4  7#c7    
,untreated hearing and balance problems 
contribute to and are highly correlated 
with depression and social isolation4   
7#d7 ,seniors with hearing loss run a   
much higher risk of cognitive problems  
and experience cognitive decline up to  
#dj percent faster than those with      
normal hearing4  7#e7 ,medicare         
beneficiaries should have access to the 
same level of audiologic care as is     
available in the ,veterans'             
,administration1 under the ,federal     
,employees ,health ,benefits ,program1  
and under private insurance4  7#f7 ,the 

,medicare program needs to be updated in
 a comprehensive way so ,medicare       
beneficiaries are able to have access to
 all of the advancements in the delivery
 of audiologic care4  #c4 ,improved     
,medicare coverage of audiology services
  7a7 ,treatment of audiologists as     
physicians for purposes of furnishing   
audiology services ,the first sentence  
of section #ahfa7r7 of the ,social      
,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aciex7r77
 is amended--  7#a7 by striking or      
before 7#e72 and  7#b7 by inserting     
before the period the following3 1 or   
7#f7 a qualified audiologist1 but only  
with respect to the furnishing of       
audiology services described in         
subsection 7ll77#c7 for which the       
qualified audiologist is legally        
authorized to perform by the ,state and 
who is acting within the scope of the   
audiologist's license 7or other         
authorization under ,state law74  7b7   
,improved access to audiology services  
available for coverage under the        

,medicare program and enabling ,medicare
 beneficiaries ,to have their choice of 
qualified audiologist  ,section         
#ahfa7ll77#c7 of the ,social ,security  
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aciex7ll77#c77 is  
amended--  7#a7 by striking hearing and 
balance assessment2  7#b7 by striking 1 
as would otherwise be covered if        
furnished by a physician2 and  7#c7 by  
inserting before the period at the end  
the following3 1 without regard to any  
requirement that the individual         
receiving the audiology services be     
under the care of 7or referred by7 a    
physician or other health care          
practitioner or that such services are  
provided under the supervision of a     
physician or other health care          
practitioner4  7c7 ,effective date ,the 
amendments made by this section shall   
apply to items and services furnished on
 or after ,january #a of the first year 
beginning more than #f months after the 
date of the enactment of this ,act4