Health-Care Professionals



2022 Healthcare Committee Members
Ana Claudia Harten, Vice-President, 
 
Ramya Konnai,  Advisory Assembly Chair

   Karen Al-Saadi,  Erica BoettcherRobyn Borreson Elizabeth CronkriteRosalyn Davis, Rachel Flynn, Marissa Habeshy, Ana Claudia HartenNaomi HashimotoBev JaynesSara KlattSherry KuhnAllison Mezo, Patricia Nizio, Julie Pratt, Adrianna Spiteria, Margaret Tiner, Jouel Trusdell-LewisTim Weise, Kathleen Zych


 The purpose of the SLP Healthcare Committee is to support and represent the needs of speech-language pathologists or audiologists working in the community, private practice, health care or medical settings. The SLP Healthcare Committee monitors and responds to issues affecting the provision of services in these settings.  In addition, the committee encourages and celebrates excellence in these settings through the conferring of the Outstanding Clinician Award.


The SLP Healthcare Committee consists of speech,language and hearing professionals from across the state of Michigan. The functions of this committee include:

  • Monitoring issues affecting provision of services in medical speech pathology and audiology
  • Coordinating the Medical Speech Pathology Forum held at MSHA Annual Conference
  • Reviewing nominations and selecting recipients for the MSHA Outstanding Clinician Award
  • Submitting suggestions to the Program Committee for invited speakers at the MSHA Annual Conference
  • Maintaining contacts with reimbursement agencies including Medicaid, Medicare and Blue Cross

We are always looking for new members for our committee!  We need input from a greater number of MSHA members from all areas of the state who specialize in adult or pediatric healthcare.  The committee meets four to five times a year in the Detroit area.  If you are unable to be present in person at the meetings, you can participate via conference call. 
Please contact Ana Claudia Harten at aharten@emich.edu if you are interested in joining the committee



Outstanding Clinician Award
The Healthcare Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the Outstanding Clinician Award. Erica Boettcher, M.A., CCC-SLPHenry Ford Health will be honored at the Medical SLP Forum on April 20th  at the 2024 MSHA Annual Conference at the VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center in Muskegon.  

The SLP Healthcare Committee Outstanding Clinician Awards goal is to honor remarkable clinicians who support the overall mission of MSHA in their clinical practice and who go beyond normal work responsibilities.  We would like to recognize our Michigan colleagues working in health care and motivate others to provide excellent clinical service.  Consider nominating your colleague or someone you know working in health care who demonstrates exemplary professionalism with their clients with communication disorders.   The deadline for nominations is August 20, 2024 and submissions can be made by using the the Outstanding Clinical Award Nomination Form found here.  For more information see Outstanding Clinician Guidelines.

The winners will be notified in January of 2025 and will be honored at the 2025 MSHA Annual Conference, March 13-15, 2025 at the Kalamazoo Plaza Hotel in Kalamazoo.

Revised Michigan Public Health Code General Rules rules were effective as of March 22, 2023

♦Renewal date for licenses: 2 years for SLPs from the issue date. Previously, LARA used a date of September 30; however, they have changed this to the date your license was issued. It is recommended that you log into MiPLUS to verify the expiration date on your license to ensure you renew at the appropriate time. 

♦Implicit Bias training requirements were updated to allow for "asynchronous teleconference* or webinar" as an acceptable modality for the training. 

*Asynchronous communications include live streams and broadcasts that are delivered in a one-to-many setting. Some examples of asynchronous are on-demand videos, pre-recorded video lessons and training videos, recorded meeting or one-to-many live streaming

ASHA Certification Requirements

♦Beginning with certificate holders in the January 1, 2023–December 31, 2025 maintenance interval: Out of 30 required PDHs for certification maintenance, at least 2 hours must be in cultural competency, cultural humility, culturally responsive practice, or diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)

Starting January 1, 2020, Clinical supervisors and CF mentors will be required to have 2 hours professional development in the area of Supervision post-certification.  MSHA will be offering a class on Supervision at the MSHA Annual Conference, April 18-20, 2024 at the VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center in Muskegon. 

Supervision: Professional Development Requirements:

•Who? All clinical supervisor and clinical fellowship (CF) mentors providing supervision/clinical instruction for students and/or Clinical Fellows for purposes of ASHA certification. 
•What? Complete a minimum of 2 hours of professional development in the area of supervision/clinical instruction 
•When? After being awarded the CCC-A or CCC-SLP.
•How Often? One time.

ASHA Certification Maintenance Requirement in Ethics.  If you’re in the January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2022 certification maintenance interval there is a new maintenance requirement that went into effect.

  • Who? This requirement applies to all individuals who hold the CCC-A and/or CCC-SLP. 
  • What? Out of the 30 required professional development hours earned for certification maintenance, at least 1 hour must be in the area of ethics.
  • When? This requirement has a staggered start.  Future maintenance intervals will follow (2021-2023 and 2022-2024) so that soon all certificate holders will be participating.
  • How Often? This requirement is in effect for this and all future 3-year maintenance intervals.

If you have further questions about this ethics professional development, please contact the ASHA Action Center at 800-498-2071, or send an e-mail with your questions to certification@asha.org.

Announcements:
Supervision and Billing: Do you have questions about billing for folks with limited or no licenses? Check out this page! This information comprises some of our most frequently asked technical assistance questions. Supervision of Assistants, Graduate Students, and Clinical Fellows: Billing and Payment Compliance (asha.org)

♦Comments to CMS Proposed Rule on Managed Care AccessASHA Comments to CMS on Medicaid Managed Care Proposed Rule - June 29, 2023

 

♦Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule (including updates on telehealth, payment rates, Medicare Conversion Factor): In case you are interested in this crossover topic, please see this newspiece knowing we will have a full breakdown next week. 

♦New EPSDT Infographic we created to help members learn about this federally mandated Medicaid benefit: What is EPSDT? (asha.org)


What to Expect at the End of the Public Health Emergency: Maintaining Compliance with State, Federal, and Payer Laws and Requirements.

♦The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), released information on additional funds targeted to Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) providers through the Provider Relief Fund... Read More

♦Medicare Reverses Incorrect Edit, Allows Same-Day Billing of Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Study by SLPs and Radiologists

MSHA is pleased to announce that per Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan / Blue Care Network, speech-language pathology services are reimbursable when delivered via telemedicine.

BCBSM/BCN’s current Telemedicine policy is available through the Provider Portal on their website. While SLPs are not explicitly listed, we have been assured, verbally and in writing, our services are included under this policy. https://provider.bcbsm.com/therecord/bcn/documents/medpolicy/telemedicine2.pdf

Services delivered must be within the scope of practice of the provider, and all documentation requirements must be met in terms of quality and completeness. The location of service should be 02 (telehealth). BCBSM/BCN has stated that they will pay the same rate as an in person visit. This policy holds for both PPO and HMO plans, as well as commercial and Medicare Advantage populations. 

We’re now approved as providers for Medicare! We are still waiting on the Medicaid manual to be released with our telehealth inclusion. The state assured us that SLPs will be included for telehealth reimbursement.


♦ Please help the Michigan Speech-Language-Hearing Association (MSHA) spread awareness of aphasia by sharing the video What Exactly is Aphasia?   Volunteer committee members of MSHA have collected resources to assist others in sharing information with other professionals and consumers.

Licensure Information:
LARA Website
For More Information on Licensure


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