WE NEED YOU TO CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSIONAL
REPRESENTATIVE TO ASK THEM TO SUPPORT THE HEARING AID TAX CREDIT
BILL
HR 2329. Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit
Act. What is it exactly?
HR 2329 provides a tax credit
of up to $500 per hearing aid, available once every 5 years,
towards the purchase of such hearing aid, available to: 1)
individuals age 55 and over, or 2) those purchasing a hearing
aid for a dependent.
HR 2329 is not intended to cover
the full cost of hearing aids, but will simply provide some
measure of financial assistance to the groups who are most
in need of these devices but are unable to afford them: those
approaching or in retirement, and families with children.
Why do we need this special tax
treatment for hearing aids?
• While 95% of individuals
with hearing loss could be successfully treated with hearing
aids, only 22% (6.35 million Americans) currently use them
according to the most recent ‘MarkeTrak’ report,
the largest national consumer survey on hearing loss in America.
• It is estimated that there are 31 million Americans
with hearing loss. Included in this figure are 1 million children
under the age of 18 with a diagnosed hearing loss who are not
now using a hearing aid, and around 9.7 million Americans age
55 and over.
• 40% of individuals with hearing loss have incomes of
less than $30,000 per year. A Department of Commerce study
indicates that the overall family income of people with hearing
loss is almost half that of the general population.
• 30% of those with hearing loss cite financial constraints
as a core reason they do not use hearing aids, according to
a MarkeTrak report.
• The average cost for a hearing aid in 2002 was over
$1,400, and almost 2/3 of individuals with hearing loss require
two devices, thereby increasing the average out of pocket expense
to over $2,800.
• Hearing aids are not covered under Medicare, or under
the vast majority of state mandated benefits. In fact, 71.4%
of hearing aid purchases involve no third party payments, which
place the entire burden of the hearing aid purchase on the
consumer, according to ‘MarkeTrak’.
As of October 2007 HR 2329 had 60 cosponsors and
the Senate Bill, S 1410 had 7. To see if your Senator or Congressional
Representative is a co sponsor of the Hearing Aid Tax Credit
go to
I am writing to ask you to support H.R. 2329, the Hearing
Aid Tax Credit Bill. Very few health insurances cover hearing
aids and Medicare excludes them from coverage. As a result,
Americans with a hearing loss are forced to pay out of their
own pockets for hearing aids that can cost as much as $2-$3,000
each. Something has to be done to help people get the hearing
aids they need.
(Include a paragraph talking
about your own experience with hearing loss and trying to afford
hearing aids that you need)
Please sign on as a cosponsor
of this bill. I thank you for considering this
Yours truly,
[Your name]
=============
October
5, 2007 Information Sheet - Medicare Open Enrollment Period -
now is the time to review your Medicare coverage.
Get the Most out of Medicare
Each year Medicare health and prescription drug
plans can make changes to their coverage, benefits and costs. To
make sure Medicare works well for you, Medicare encourages beneficiaries
to review information about their current health and drug plan
coverage. Helpful tools are located on the Medicare website
at http://www.medicare.gov.
Scroll down to publications. For information
about:
Yearly Medicare Enrollment Review: select
pub #11220,
Preventive Benefits Checklist: select
pub #11308
Joining a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan: select pub#
11111
Personal Medicare Information: select
pub# 11297
If you would like personal help, call 1-800-MEDICARE. TTY
users can call 1-877-486-2048. Medicare operators are familiar
with handling relay calls. Operators can also direct you
to a Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) counselor
near you for free face-to-face help with Medicare information
needs.
=================
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE – April 24, 2007 Contact: Brenda
Battat, Associate Executive Director
Hearing
Loss Association of America battat@hearingloss.org;
301.657.2248 V/TTY
BREAKING NEWS HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH THE WIRELESS INDUSTRY
Washington, DC, April 24, 2007: The
Hearing Loss Association is delighted to announce it has reached
a consensus agreement with the wireless industry on increasing
the accessibility of wireless telephones over the next few years.
This consensus has enormous significance for
people with hearing loss who use wireless phones. It is the first
time since the struggle to achieve hearing-aid-compatible (HAC)
telephones began in 1973 that consumers and industry have come
to consensus without federal oversight to achieve agreement.
The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA)
has sought to find common ground with industry to come up with
rules that took into consideration the technical challenges facing
industry, but, at the same time, addressed the accessibility
needs of hearing aid and cochlear implant users.
Brenda Battat, associate executive director
of the Hearing Loss Association of America and who represented
HLAA at the negotiation table, had this to say: “Based
on experience with mandated regulations that are not complied
with or enforced, it made more sense to work together with industry
to develop rules that they committed to comply with up front,
but that also gave consumers ever increasing access to wireless
telephones.”
The Hearing Loss Association of America’s
approach was to increase the number of telecoil-compatible phones
for those consumers who have the most hearing loss; to ensure
that consumers will benefit from new technology from the outset;
that research be conducted on how to improve audio output and
volume control on telephones; that consumers can choose from
accessible telephones with different prices, features, and styles;
that there be increased availability of M-rated phones for all
people with hearing loss and that the portfolio of communication
accessible phones is kept fresh from year to year.
The Hearing Loss Association of America is the
nation’s largest membership and advocacy organization for
people with hearing loss. HLAA works at the national level to
impact public policy that benefits its members and all people
with hearing loss. Executive Director Terry D Portis, Ed.D.,
commented, "As communications technology advances, it is
important that people with hearing loss not be left behind. Mobile
communications devices are critical for home, community, workplace,
and especially for emergency situations. We are pleased to see
this consensus agreement and the positive impact it will have."
The proposal was presented to the FCC on Monday,
April 23, 2007. The FCC has taken the proposal under advisement
and is awaiting further input on a few data points. A press conference
was held today at ATIS headquarters in Washington, D.C., to announce
the agreement to the international media who reports on the telecommunications
industry.
ATIS President and CEO Susan Miller provided
opening comments. Experts on the agenda who represented their
work on the agreement were: Tom Goode, ATIS general counsel;
Harold Salters, T-Mobile; Scott Kelly, Motorola; Brenda Battat,
Hearing Loss Association of America; and Karen Peltz Strauss,
RERC.
Comments from manufacturers clearly voiced they
felt this was a successful effort. Scott Kelly, Motorola, co-chair
of the ATIS HAC Incubator WG10, said: “It makes sense to
work with industry and get a commitment up front. We believe
we have an agreement between consumers and industry to provide
more wireless phones that will work for people with hearing loss.
Harold Salters, T-Mobile, co-chair, voiced his enthusiasm saying “they
are vitally pleased to be part of the consensus…it is
win-win for all.”
ATIS President and CEO Susan Miller said, “ATIS
is pleased with the outcome of the consensus agreement and is
equally pleased in the role it has played in facilitating this
important proposal. A copy of the industry/consumer 50 percent
alternative proposal is available online at www.atis.org/hac/haclinks.asp.
The Hearing Loss Association of America, together
with Gallaudet University, the RERC on Telecommunications Access,
and the Alexander Graham Bell Association for Deaf and Hard of
Hearing negotiated with the key wireless service providers and
manufacturers from November 2006 to March 2007 in Working Group
10 of the Alliance for Telecommunication Industry Solutions (ATIS)
AISP.4-HAC Incubator.
After the press conference to announce the consumer-industry
consensus, all those present toasted the significant achievement
on behalf of people with hearing loss and the wireless industry.
Back row, from left:
Shelley Blakely, T-Mobile
Linda Kozma-Spytek, RERC Gallaudet
Scott Kelly, Motorola
Terry Portis, Hearing Loss Association of America
Mary Brooner, Motorola
Jim Turner, ATIS
Tom Goode, ATIS
Front row, from left:
Martha Ciske, ATIS
Karen Peltz Strauss, RERC Gallaudet/Trace Center
Harold Salters, T-Mobile
Brenda Battat, Hearing Loss Association of America
Susan Mazrui, AT&T
From left:
Scott Kelly, Motorola
Brenda Battat, Hearing Loss Association of America
Harold Salters, T-Mobile
Karen Peltz Strauss, RERC Gallaudet/Trace Center
From left:
Scott Kelly, Motorola
Brenda Battat, Hearing Loss Association of America
Harold Salters, T-Mobile
Terry Portis, Hearing Loss Association of America
Susan Miller, ATIS president and CEO,
says: “This is a momentous agreement achieved through
the hard work of the wireless industry and consumer advocates
for individuals with hearing loss.”
