WASHINGTON, D.C. – Seniors on Medicare will no longer be denied coverage for hearing aids under a new bill introduced today by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH). Brown’s Medicare Hearing Enhancement and Auditory Rehabilitation (HEAR) Act would help the more than one-third of seniors who require hearing aids afford devices by covering them under the Medicare program.
“The Medicare program helps Americans live longer, healthier lives. It should also enhance the quality of life for seniors by covering hearing aids,” Brown said. “Too many seniors go without hearing aids because they cannot afford them. Hearing impairment is a health and quality of life issue, and Medicare must be improved to cover hearing aids and other treatment options.”
Thirty percent of adults age 65-74 and 47 percent of adults over the age of 75 have a hearing impairment. Despite this, the federal Medicare program, which provides insurance to disabled Americans and all seniors over the age of 65 – roughly 45 million people in total – excludes hearing aids from its basic coverage. It is estimated that only one out of five Americans who could benefit from a hearing aid actually wears one.
Since the Medicare program was established, hearing aids have not been covered. Instead, seniors are forced to purchase supplemental coverage or pay out-of-pocket for these critical devices. Costs for hearing aids in the U.S. range from $500 to $5,000. In contrast, other industrialized countries including Australia, Canada, Iceland, and the United Kingdom provide free or discounted hearings aids to public health care beneficiaries. In the U.S., both the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs cover hearing aids for their beneficiaries.
Brown’s HEAR Act would eliminate the current hearing aid coverage exclusion in federal Medicare statute and would direct the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to develop specific coverage policy. It would also provide Medicare coverage for auditory rehabilitation services.
