I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5304 
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 program, to improve access to the audiology services 
available for coverage under the Medicare program and to enable bene-
ficiaries to have their choice of a qualified audiologist to provide such 
services, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 31, 2014 
Ms. JENKINS (for herself and Mr. CARTWRIGHT) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 
addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, 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 pro-
gram, to improve access to the audiology services avail-
able for coverage under the Medicare program and to 
enable beneficiaries to have their choice of a qualified 
audiologist to provide such services, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Audiology Patient 
Choice Act of 2014’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Hearing loss is the third most common 
chronic disorder for Americans over 65, behind only 
arthritis and high blood pressure. 
(2) 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 65. 
(3) Untreated hearing and balance problems 
contribute to and are highly correlated with depres-
sion and social isolation. 
(4) Seniors with hearing loss run a much higher 
risk of cognitive problems and experience cognitive 
decline up to 40 percent faster than those with nor-
mal hearing. 
(5) Medicare beneficiaries should have access to 
the same level of audiologic care as is available in 
the Veterans’ Administration, under the Federal 
Employees Health Benefits Program, and under pri-
vate insurance. 
(6) The Medicare program needs to be updated 
in a comprehensive way so Medicare beneficiaries 
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are able to have access to all of the advancements 
in the delivery of audiologic care. 
SEC. 3. IMPROVED MEDICARE COVERAGE OF AUDIOLOGY 
SERVICES. 
(a) TREATMENT OF AUDIOLOGISTS AS PHYSICIANS 
FOR PURPOSES OF FURNISHING AUDIOLOGY SERVICES.— 
The first sentence of section 1861(r) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(r)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ before ‘‘(5)’’; and 
(2) by inserting before the period the following: 
‘‘, or (6) a qualified audiologist, but only with re-
spect to the furnishing of audiology services de-
scribed in subsection (ll)(3) for which the qualified 
audiologist is legally authorized to perform by the 
State and who is acting within the scope of the audi-
ologist’s license (or other authorization under State 
law)’’. 
(b) IMPROVED ACCESS
TO AUDIOLOGY SERVICES 
AVAILABLE FOR COVERAGE UNDER THE MEDICARE PRO-
GRAM
AND ENABLING MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES TO 
HAVE THEIR CHOICE OF QUALIFIED AUDIOLOGIST.— 
Section 1861(ll)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395x(ll)(3)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘hearing and balance assess-
ment’’; 
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