As of right now, doctors of audiology have not been able to obtain limited physician status or gain such recognition federally. In addition to that, the issue of direct access has also been a hindrance for AuDs to have much control over seeing patients with Medicare or Medicaid; however, there may be some changes in the near future depending on what the new government healthcare laws. In other words, those individuals with Medicare are required to get a physician's referral before they can see us. Even then, you probably will not get fully reimbursed from Medicare for the services you billed. And from my understanding, even though national organizations such as ASHA or AAA have already defined the scope of practice for audiologists in their policies, not all states cover everything on it under their licensure. If you provide a service not listed under your audiology state license, you are susceptible to a malpractice lawsuit. So as you can see, there are still many hurdles for audiologists to overcome, before we can expand the scope of practice even further. But do not worry, there are people within our field that are voicing out to politicians in Washington. As student doctors and current doctors of audiology, we can also contribute to this profession's growth through various means such as spreading awareness, and hopefully, one day we'll one day be acknowledged by the government and all health professionals as primary hearing/balance providers.