The number of states that mandate some form of hearing aid insurance coverage has more than doubled in the past three years, with mandates going into effect in 11 states since January 2009.
Even so, most Americans live in states that do not require insurance companies to provide coverage for hearing aids, and of the 19 that mandate a benefit, only New Hampshire and Rhode Island extend that requirement beyond children to people of all ages. Since children make up only about 2% of the hearing loss population, such coverage mandates have only a limited impact on the number of people with hearing loss. It is difficult to analyze the actual impact of these mandates since the New Hampshire benefit went into effect in January 2011, and Rhode Island offered only a limited benefit starting in 2002, and has just upgraded it to mandate full coverage for children and up to $1,500 per hearing aid for adults.
Legislators in many states as well as federal regulators, however, often refer to research by the California Health Benefits Review Program (CHBRP) when considering the impact and cost of insurance mandates and regulatory changes. Hearing aid coverage mandates have been proposed numerous times in CA, although legislation has not been adopted. Still, the CHBRP has analyzed the issue several times including a 2007 report on the impact of CA legislation that proposed a $1,000 hearing aid benefit for children 17 and under. The benefit would be capped at $1,000, so the per hearing aid benefit would have been $500 for a binaural fitting. CHBRP estimated a 4% increase in the number of children who would utilize hearing aids as a direct result of the legislation, and also forecast a further increase in the number of children who would utilize hearing aids with more sophisticated technologies. Further analysis is provided in the Executive Summary of the CHBRP report.
States Expand Emphasis on HA Insurance Coverage Mandates
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