Cody audiologist Levi Asay said he isn’t sure how much he and others’ lobbying efforts will lead to laws passed, but he’s sure they made an impact.

Asay, a Powell High School grad and audiologist at Big Horn Basin Hearing & Speech in Cody, went to Washington D.C. as the Wyoming audiology representative for the American Speech Language Hearing Association’s annual Hill Day meetings with Congress.

“It was nice to get into these meetings, talk to people, say ‘here’s how it affects me,’” Asay said. “It just was a neat opportunity to meet our senators.”

Asay, one of 21 audiology professionals in Wyoming licensed by the organization — there are only 35 licensed audiologists in the state — has been on the ambassador’s committee for two years but this was his first time going to Capitol Hill. The Wyoming delegation, which also included a speech language therapist from the state as well as the state ambassador, was paired with Idaho representatives for the day as both sat down at meetings with their respective congressional staffs.

While Rep. Harriett Hageman (R-Wyo.) was unable to attend due to actually being back in Wyoming for a family funeral, Asay said both Republican Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis had some time to talk to him and his fellow Wyoming ambassadors.

“They do a really good job of getting meetings set up for us,” Asay said. “It’s an opportunity to get representatives in front of us, to hear from who it actually affects. It’s good to have a voice for Wyoming and for Park County.”

He said Lummis was gracious when he saw her walking down the hall between meetings and gave the group some time, and he said Barrasso in particular found a good bit of time to spend with the group. Asay said it helped that Wyoming ASHA Ambassador Jessica Waldron knew him from a previous visit.

Issues they discussed included improving Medicare and making COVID-19-era rules that allow for telehealth speech pathology services to be reimbursed made permanent.

“I’m hopeful, but I’m not under the allusion it’s going to have a massive impact,” Asay said. “It’s easy to go and ask for money, but it’s nice to be able to tell them, ‘Medicare is killing me and I’m not going to be around with this level of reimbursement without getting some extra help.'”

Despite the tough issues and political hurdles to overcome, Asay said it was a good experience.

“It's neat to be the one that gets to go and have a voice,” he said. “I think it’s nice for Park County to be represented too. And I’m grateful for how approachable our senators are.”