ASHA - American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

10/31/2025 | News release | Archived content

ASHA Advocate: October 31, 2025

Louisiana and West Virginia Become First States to Issue Interstate Compact Privileges

The Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact (ASLP-IC) Commission recently announced that the CompactConnect data system has officially launched. On Tuesday, October 28, 2025, Louisiana and West Virginia became the first states to begin issuing privileges to eligible audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs)! More states will start using the data system to enable them to issue compact privileges on a rolling basis.

Federal Government Shutdown Updates

The federal government shutdown continues as the Senate has repeatedly rejected a temporary funding bill the House of Representatives passed last month. Democrats are seeking to add provisions to that measure repealing Medicaid cuts and program changes enacted earlier this year and making permanent subsidies that help people pay health insurance premiums, which are set to expire at the end of the year. Get the latest news and updates and join ASHA in taking action on several timely issues:

NSSLHA Holds Student Advocacy Day

The National Student Speech Language Hearing Association held its annual Student Advocacy Day on October 23. Communication sciences and disorders (CSD) students from around the country sent over 1,500 letters urging Congress to pass legislation to increase access to public service loan forgiveness, which enables professionals who work in schools to discharge the balance of their student loans under specified circumstances. Join their efforts by supporting the Strengthening Efforts for Relief and Vital Incentives for Community Service and Engagement (SERVICE) Act (H.R. 2829), which will reduce barriers that prevent borrowers from receiving this financial relief and encourage more CSD students to work in school-based settings where audiologists and SLPs are needed.

Keep an Eye Out for Important CPT Code Surveys

ASHA has fielded an American Medical Association (AMA) Relative Value Update Committee (RUC) survey for services related to audiology (vHIT) and speech-language pathology services to a random sample of ASHA members. The Medicare payment schedule is based on professional work, practice expense, and professional liability insurance. We need your help to ensure that values related to audiology and speech-language pathology services are accurately and fairly presented to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Please check your inbox (or junk mail) for an email from ASHA Health Policy ([email protected]). We appreciate you helping us with this important activity.

ASHA Opposes Utah Plan to Replace Licensure With Certification

Utah's Office of Professional Licensure Review has recommended downgrading the regulation of audiologists, SLPs, and hearing instrument specialists from state licensure to "mandatory certification." ASHA strongly opposes this proposed change [PDF]. Our primary concern is that it would undermine Utah's current safeguards, compromise professional standards, and-most critically-put patient safety at risk. Over 535 members in Utah have already taken action through ASHA's grassroots campaign.

ASHA Working for You

  • Signed a statement circulated by the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities calling for a reversal of layoffs of federal workers at the Department of Education who administer key programs for individuals with disabilities.
  • Signed a letter [PDF] from the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities providing feedback on the implementation of the new work requirements enacted by H.R. 1.
  • Participated in the American Health Law Association Fraud and Compliance Forum in order to learn current fraud, waste, and abuse enforcement trends across Medicare and Medicaid for health care services.
  • Sent a letter [PDF] to Idaho Medicaid asking it to rescind proposed provider rate cuts for SLPs as a result of H.R. 1 implementation.
  • Sent letters to Medi-Cal [PDF] and the California insurance commissioner [PDF] encouraging increased oversight into Kaiser's restrictions on coverage of speech-language pathology services.
  • Led North Carolinians in sending almost 1,600 messages in less than two weeks to the North Carolina legislature to reverse Medicaid provider payment rate cuts and to continue advocating for an increase for speech-language pathology payment rates.
  • Signed a letter circulated by the Alliance for Connected Care to congressional leaders urging Congress to immediately restore Medicare telehealth authority.
  • Signed a letter circulated by the Alliance for Connected Care to leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees in support of the States Handling Access to Reciprocity for Employment (SHARE) Act (H.R. 2332/S. 1101), which would cut through federal bureaucracy and increase access to care across state lines through interstate compacts.
  • Cohosted "Navigating the Shift: Understanding the New Hearing Device Services CPT Codes " with the American Academy of Audiology.

Spotlight

Thanks to members of the ASHA Board of Directors who recently joined ASHA Advocacy for a day on Capitol Hill urging Congress to reopen the federal government, restart Medicare telehealth authority for audiologists and SLPs, and rescind the firings of federal workers who administer programs that help ASHA school-based members support students with disabilities.

ASHA - American Speech-Language-Hearing Association published this content on October 31, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on November 05, 2025 at 14:15 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]