Rehab

Proposed bill to help America's hard of hearing

Rehab Regs, May 4, 2007

A bill to provide Medicare coverage for hearing aids and auditory rehabilitation services for seniors was introduced to Congress mid-April, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) press release. The bill, Medicare Hearing Enhancement and Auditory Rehabilitation Act of 2007 (H.R. 1912), highlights Medicare's role in assisting the elderly with hearing loss. ASHA is working on getting both private and public health plans to acknowledge that there are over 31 million deaf or hard-of-hearing Americans, and they need coverage for their auditory rehabilitation and hearing aids.

Under a federal law, Medicare is prohibited from paying for hearing aids. The proposed bill would repeal the current law and work to develop coverage policies based on other federal hearing aid programs, according to the ASHA press release.

Most Popular

Related Articles