Legislation to Require Medicare Coverage of Hearing Aids
Tuesday October 27, 2009
Last week, Senator Sherrod Brown (OH) introduced a bill to require Medicare to cover hearing aids. Highlights from the article:
- Brown will try to get this included in the health care legislation
- Other countries already provide hearing aids to people in similar government plans
- AARP Director of Federal Relations says many senior citizens already have Medicare Advantage plans to that cover hearing aids
- A cosponsor of the House version does not think Brown will succeed in having the provision included in the health care bill because of the possibility of Medicare cuts.
The Senate version of the bill is S 1837 (introduced in October 2009), and it has no cosponsors. The House version of the bill is HR 504 (introduced in January 2009), and it has only five cosponsors. Unless there is a big push by people who would benefit from these bills, they don't stand much chance of passage due to lack of cosponsors.
Not only hearing aids be covered, cochlear implants needs to be added too. I been lobbying for this the past 8 months already.
They should cover hearing aids!! The seniors who have the Advantage plan is only a VERY SMALL number of people who need them.. There is a HUGE number of people who can’t AFFORD the Advantage Plan…It’s not just Senoir Citizens who need a hearing aid either…Most of the AARP’s customers are people who could afford to retire with a halfway decent income..There are sooooo Many people on Disabiltity that can’t afford to pay for AARP and extra insurance plans.. Why is it that these people get ignored.. Because they don’t have money to buy off these legislators??? It’s just total ignorance…There is NO EXCUSE!!!!!! For hearing aids to NOT be covered..Cochlear Implants are covered in Ohio… I just had surgery two weeks ago..I am on SSDI…It’s more than about hearing!!! It’s about QUALITY OF LIFE!!!