The reception was hosted in the Rayburn House Office Building after a group of HIA members spent the day meeting with various Senators, Reps and Congressional staff urging them to support the legislation. Among others, HIA members met in person with Senators Al Franken (D-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) as well as numerous Representatives. Members and staff from the Alexander Graham Bell Assn for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell), Hearing Loss Assn of America (HLAA), Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), American Academy of Audiology (AAA), American Speech Language Hearing Assn (ASHA), International Hearing Society (IHS) and Gallaudet University also attended the reception, while teams from ADA, IHS and HLAA also conducted Hill visits in support of the tax credit.
Rep. McCarthy (left) presents a ceremonial megaphone to Rep. Latham to "spread the word" about HATC.
The Hearing Aid Tax Credit would provide assistance to many of the 34 million people who need hearing aids to treat their hearing loss. Medicare expressly excludes coverage of hearing aids as do most private insurance policies, and as a result, cost is cited as a prohibitive factor by two thirds of the people who do not treat their hearing loss. If enacted, S. 905 would provide a $500 tax credit per hearing aid to people of all ages, while HR 1479 would cover children and people age 55 and older. That would be a critical assist since more than 60% of all hearing aid purchases involve no third party payment of any kind, and only 25% of people who could benefit from hearing aids actual use them according to the latest MarkeTrak report.
This legislation has attracted dramatic grassroots attention, motivating Americans across the nation to send more than 75,000 emails and letters to their elected Senators and Representatives since 2008 by visiting www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org.
HIA, headquartered in Washington, DC, is the national trade association of manufacturers of hearing aids, implantable hearing devices, assistive listening devices, component parts and power sources for amplification devices. Visit www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org for information about the bill, or contact Andy Bopp, abopp@bostrom.com.
