Who Needs Hearing Aid Coverage?
For people over the age of 65, one in three have hearing loss. This increases to half of all people over the age of 85! With the high costs of hearing tests and hearing aids, often around $1,500 per hearing aid, proper health insurance coverage is important. Living with untreated hearing loss leaves seniors at a higher risk of developing anxiety, depression, or paranoia. Hearing loss causes more rapid brain cell decay, often leading to an earlier onset of dementia.
Without the ability to have meaningful conversations with their family and friends, these seniors experience anger and frustration, and a massive decrease in quality of life. Currently, a staggering 70% of seniors who need hearing aids don’t have them. Families are also deeply affected, as they watch their parents and grandparents struggle, simply because they cannot afford a small piece of technology that could give them back their hearing.
Medicare and Hearing Health
For seniors in the U.S., health insurance coverage is often the only way to access affordable health care. Medicare, the federal health insurance plan for seniors over the age of 65, provides basic coverage. This includes doctor visits, routine tests, and surgeries. What about hearing health? Medicare does cover up to 80% of diagnostic hearing and balance exams if a doctor orders these tests. However, these tests will only be ordered if there is injury, illness, or recent hearing loss.
What’s Not Covered
Plan B, the basic coverage plan, does not cover any of the costs of a routine hearing exam, which can cost up to $250. Whether a doctor orders a diagnostic hearing test or not, the costs of hearing aids and hearing aid fitting exams will not be covered. Thousands of dollars must be paid out of pocket to maintain hearing health. Plan C has more comprehensive coverage, but still does not alleviate all the costs of hearing exams and hearing aids. Even private health insurance plans often provide only limited coverage.
New Legislation on Hearing Aid Coverage
According to federal law, covering the costs of hearing tests and hearing aids is not mandatory for basic coverage, so Medicare does not cover hearing aids. This is a huge concern, particularly with the growing number of adults over the age of 65. Hearing aids cost anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars, and are just not affordable to seniors with a low income. But this will soon change!
In June of 2015, Matt Cartwright, a U.S. Representative, announced the reintroduction of the HEAR Act, H.R 2748. The Help Extend Auditory Relief Act of 2015 was first introduced in 2013 but was never legislated. The HEAR Act will extend mandatory health care coverage to include both hearing testing and hearing aids. Medicare’s Plan B coverage will then include audiology assessment, and the cost of hearing aids. The HEAR Act has been referred to the Subcommittee on Health for review, and has the full support of both the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) and the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA).
To support the HEAR Act, contact your representatives in Congress.