Delaware Senate Bill 141

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Completed Legislative Action
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: Passed on September 21 2023 - 100% progression
Action: 2023-09-21 - Signed by Governor
Text: Latest bill text (Draft #1) [HTML]

This Act establishes updated, detailed standards for the practice of hearing aid dispensing. Definitions are added to specify that the standards and requirements pertaining hearing aid dispensing apply to prescription hearing aids only and not to over-the-counter hearing aids. Hearing aid dispenser licensure requirements consist of a high school diploma, six months of on-the-job training, and a national exam. Currently, hearing aid dispensers are expressly prohibited from making medical diagnoses or audiologic evaluations, as set forth in 24 Del. C. § 3702(7). Input from stakeholders demonstrated that HADs were practicing outside the permissible scope of practice. Impermissible activities include cerumen management (wax removal), which is considered invasive, and treating tinnitus (ringing in the ears), which can indicate more complex medical issues. These conditions are appropriately treated by a physician, preferably a hearing specialist. Further, HADs frequently use medical diagnosis codes to ensure payment from insurance carriers, which conflicts with the medical diagnosis prohibition in the current law. A new scope of practice definition delineates permissible and prohibited activities and identifies when referral to a physician is required. This Act also clarifies that a speech/language pathologist applicant must present a certificate of clinical competence issued by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Audiologist applicants are not subject to this requirement. The distinction is that ASHA evaluates the speech/language pathologists practicum and clinical fellowship, which are requirements for licensure. In contrast, an audiologist applicant is only required to establish receipt of a doctoral degree and successful completion of a national licensure examination. This Act clarifies that audiologists licensed prior to July 10, 2009 do not need to meet the educational requirement of a doctoral degree as long as they have maintained Delaware licensure. This Act further amends provisions relating to examinations to comport with current practice. This Act revises the reciprocity requirements in the interests of clarity. This Act sets forth requirements for licensure of applicants who were educated outside of the United States. This Act removes the definitions of audiology aide and speech pathology aide on the basis that the Board does not license aides.

An Act To Amend Title 24 Of The Delaware Code Relating To The Board Of Speech/language Pathologists, Audiologists, And Hearing Aid Dispensers.

Sen. Russ Huxtable [D]	Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown [D]	Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker [D]	Sen. Kyra Hoffner [D]
Sen. Jack Walsh [D]

2023-06-30 - House - House Third Reading (Y: 24 N: 16 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [PASS]
2023-06-22 - Senate - Senate Third Reading (Y: 14 N: 6 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [PASS]

Date	Chamber	Action
2023-09-21		Signed by Governor
2023-06-30		Passed By House. Votes: 24 YES 16 NO 1 ABSENT
2023-06-28		Reported Out of Committee (Health & Human Development) in House with 11 On Its Merits
2023-06-23		Assigned to Health & Human Development Committee in House
2023-06-22		Passed By Senate. Votes: 14 YES 6 NO 1 ABSENT
2023-06-21		Reported Out of Committee (Executive) in Senate with 7 On Its Merits
2023-06-16		Re-Assigned to Executive Committee in Senate
2023-05-19		Introduced and Assigned to Legislative Oversight & Sunset Committee in Senate

Type	Source
Summary	https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=140447
Text	https://legis.delaware.gov/json/BillDetail/GenerateHtmlDocument?legislationId=140447&legislationTypeId=1&docTypeId=2&legislationName=SB141
Roll Call	https://legis.delaware.gov/json/RollCall/GetRollCallVoteByRollCallId#54808
Roll Call	https://legis.delaware.gov/json/RollCall/GetRollCallVoteByRollCallId#55095