- Member Resources:
- Updated template appeal letters and Position Statements
- Published an update to the guidance for CPT code G2211
- Payer Engagement:
- Engaged the following payers on clinical issues including Modifier 79, E/M Downcoding, and Coverage of Posterior Nasal Nerve Ablation, Post-Operative Debridement, and CT Scan Interpretation:
- Highmark
- BCBS MN
- Aetna
- Cigna
- UHC
- BCBS ND
- Point32 Health
- EviCore
- Member Engagement:
- Revitalized the Lee Eisenberg Resident in Advocacy Scholarship giving two residents the opportunity to participate in the 2026 Hill Day and other advocacy activities.
- Created the Health Policy Fellowship, introducing a member to the CPT/RUC Process
- Jennifer Gross, MD, was selected as the inaugural Health Policy Fellow
- Regulatory Affairs:
- Submitted letters and comments that:
- Challenged the WiSER model
- The MAHA Report (tonsillectomy and tympanostomy tubes)
- Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans
- Suggested improvements to the MIPS Value Pathway (MVP) design
- Submitted comments on the MPFS and HOPPS/ASC Proposed Rules
- Provided members a summary of the rules
- CPT/RUC:
- Participated in 2 Surveys at the RUC
- Transoral Robotic Surgery
- SCAN
- Coalition Engagement:
- Continued to leverage our partnerships and coalitions in our advocacy efforts with the American College of Surgeons, Community Practice Summit, and the American Medical Association
- Industry Engagement:
- Rolled out a successful pilot with industry supporters on coverage of posterior nasal nerve ablation
- Continued to champion innovation and grow our involvement with Corporate Champions on market access issues including: in-office tympanostomy tubes, posterior nasal nerve, and nasal airway obstruction
- Academy Made Critical Impact on One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB)
- Helped secure a +2.5% increase to Medicare physician payment in 2026
- Actively lobbied against a provision and got it removed from OBBB that would have dramatically increased the tax burden on some independent practices.
- Revamped and Grew Project 535
- Recruited more than 50 Academy members
- Facilitated 6 in-district meetings between Academy volunteers and their U.S. Representatives or staff, in what is the inaugural “Capitol to Clinic Campaign.”
- Protected Hearing Health Research
- Urged for rejection of a proposal that would fold the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) into another institute and cut the budget by $682 million; Congress agreed and did not act on this proposal.
- Preserving Physician-Led Healthcare Teams
- Fought in Congress to stop inappropriate scope-of-practice expansions for nonphysician providers, including legislation which would grant audiologists unlimited direct access to Medicare patients without a physician referral.
- Led a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, signed by 86 physician organizations, in opposition to the Act
- Stepped Up Our Impact in the States
- Stopped scope‑of‑practice overreach
- Louisiana: Amended a bill to retain physician‑referral requirements for audiology.
- Oregon & Arkansas: Defeated or narrowed audiology scope expansion proposals.
- Maryland & Michigan: Continued pushback on audiology expansions and opposed independent APRN/NP practice.
- Expanded newborn CMV screening
- Oregon unanimously broadened targeted newborn screening.
- ENT PAC Hits Record Highs Once Again
- Raised over $164,000, as of November - our largest annual fundraising total since 2017, providing support to 56 candidates for Congress in 2025
- Raised over $100k in January alone during the “First 50” investors campaign
