Reimbursement

[BigAl]

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Why is it that AAA or ASHA are quiet on clinical reimbursement? If students want to know why we get paid so little contact AAA and ASHA, and ask what they are doing to increase reimbursement of audiological services. The reason more and more private practices that did all types of diagnostic work up going towards the miracle ear model is because reimbursement has been slashed.
I think one problem is that there are not enough private practice clinicians in the leadership of the AAA or ASHA boards. Seems like they are more worried about how handing out pens can sway the clinician to buying more hearing aids from a particular manufacturer. Over regulation will cause the demise of the private practice.

 

[Dustbug10]

I think part of the problem is that we don't have one unified voice. Do the politicians even know who are governing body is? We should commit to one or the other (AAA), methodically decide which issues we want to attack, and go from there. As far as why reimbursement specifically is put on the backburner, I'm not sure.

 

[cidanu]

I think I recently heard the number 12 as the amount of reimbursement from Medicare for an audio. I'm not sure if that's right but if it is, no wonder audiology falls into the same pattern as everyone else in healthcare: 1- see as many patients as possible as quickly as possible, or 2-sell sell sell!

The best medical service I ever received was from a doctor who had a private practice and who didn't work with insurance. He charged you based on the amount of time he spent with you and the complexity of your case. He'd provide a bill so you could file a claim with your insurance afterwards. He spent as much time with you as you or he needed. I never felt rushed and I always felt like he put a lot of thought into my treatment and care. He would even reference research articles (and show me) when making clinical decisions (talk about EBP). The unfortunate thing is that someone who wouldn't have the means to pay up front and wait for reimbursement, might not be able to access healthcare at that level. I count myself fortunate.