Public Policy Agenda - 2021 - 13

Patient, Client,
and Student
Priorities
Each patient, client, and student has unique clinical needs. It is essential that public policies
are structured to support individual needs-and that ongoing and unacceptable disparities in
health care and education settings are addressed to ensure equitable and timely access to
evidence-based services. ASHA's public policy priorities as related to patients, clients,
and students are as follows:
*	 Advocate for public policies that reduce
disparities in education and health care
settings based on race, ethnicity, gender
identity, sexual orientation, primary
language, ability, age, socioeconomic
status, and geographic location.

*	 Ensure that devices and technologies
for hearing, augmentative and
alternative communication,
habilitation, and rehabilitation are
safe, appropriately utilized, and
properly marketed to consumers.

*	 Advocate for public policies ensuring
that patients, clients, students,
caregivers, audiologists, and speechlanguage pathologists have equitable
access to objective, evidence-based
resources to support collaborative,
informed decision making.

*	 Participate in international public
policy initiatives designed to support
individuals with speech, language,
cognitive, hearing, balance, voice,
and feeding/swallowing disorders.

*	 Advocate for increased federal Medicaid
funding, the preservation of Medicaid
Maintenance of Effort protections, and state
compliance with service mandates under
Medicaid's Early and Periodic Screening,
Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit.

ASHA 2021 Public Policy Agenda | 13
Public Policy Agenda - 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Public Policy Agenda - 2021
