Third-Party Litigation Financing - Licensing and Regulation
HB1298 amends Maryland’s Health Occupations law to clarify and expand the statutory definition of the “practice of audiology.” The bill specifies that audiology includes evaluating, diagnosing, managing, and treating auditory or vestibular conditions, as well as prescribing, ordering, selling, dispensing, and fitting hearing aids and certain sound processors for osseo-integrated devices and cochlear implants. It also retains existing exclusions for surgery and device implantation procedures.
The bill adds explicit authority for audiologists to conduct certain health screenings, remove non-impacted foreign bodies and cerumen from the external auditory canal, order cultures and bloodwork related to auditory or vestibular conditions, and order and perform in-office, nonradiographic scanning or imaging of the external auditory canal when related to those conditions. It also allows ordering radiographic imaging for auditory or vestibular conditions, while making clear that preparing, operating, or performing radiographic imaging itself remains outside the practice of audiology. The act takes effect July 1, 2025.
HB1298 would revise Section 2-101 of the Health Occupations Article, expanding and clarifying the scope of practice for licensed audiologists in Maryland. The practical effect is to authorize audiologists to perform or order a broader set of diagnostic and screening services tied to ear, hearing, and balance disorders, while preserving limits on surgery and invasive procedures. This could affect audiologists, patients seeking hearing and vestibular care, and potentially insurers or other payers that rely on the statutory definition when determining covered services and professional scope.
Based on the bill text and the limited available context, the measure appears technical and professional-practice oriented rather than controversial. There are no recorded votes or committee transcript excerpts provided, and the bill was only noted as having a House hearing. The overall tone suggests a clarifying expansion of audiology practice authority, likely intended to align the statute with current clinical practice and diagnostic needs.
The main potential point of contention is the boundary between audiology services and medical or surgical procedures. The bill expressly permits certain screenings, specimen-related testing, and limited imaging-related activities, but it also preserves exclusions for surgery, osseo-integrated device surgery, cochlear implant surgery, and the preparation or performance of radiographic imaging. Any debate would likely center on whether these added authorities appropriately expand access and efficiency without encroaching on physician, radiology, or surgical scopes of practice.