Health care is expected to remain a priority for the 117th Congress (2021-2022). New legislation is coming that we hope will include a provision for hearing health care under Medicare. HLAA has been meeting with members of Congress and key committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate, encouraging them to vote YES! to expand Medicare to include hearing aids and services. That would mean for the first time, seniors who rely on Medicare to pay their medical bills would also be able to turn to Medicare to cover the cost of hearing aids and related services.

HLAA is thrilled to announce that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act of 2021 (H.R. 5376) on November 19, 2021. The Build Back Better Act of 2021 includes the expansion of Medicare to cover hearing aids and services.

The Build Back Better Act does not become law until both Houses come to agreement on the final language. Write to your U.S. Senators to urge them to include Medicare coverage of hearing aids and hearing health care services with a bill that mirrors the one passed by the House.  There is still time to push this to the finish line! We can get this done!

While H.R. 3 passed the House of Representatives on December 12, 2019, by a bipartisan vote of 230-192, it was not considered by the Senate. Introduced by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), H.R. 3 was the priority health care bill from the House in the 116th Congress, to lower prescription drug prices and expand Medicare to include hearing, dental, and vision benefits. Specific to coverage for hearing care and severe to profound hearing loss, H.R. 3 included hearing aids as prosthetic devices and addressed application of the competitive acquisition process. This legislation also set forth certain limitations, such as covering hearing aids not more than once during a 5-year period, only for hearing aids that are not over-the-counter hearing aids, and only by written order of a physician or audiologist.

HLAA is advocating for amended language to H.R. 3, among those changes are two important points for consumers:

  • Hearing aids and services should be provided by audiologists and hearing aid specialists who are legally authorized to perform services under state law (or the state regulatory mechanism provided by state law).
  • Coverage should be for people with moderately-severe to profound hearing loss. Keep in mind that cochlear implants are already reimbursed by Medicare.

Given the high cost of coverage for hearing, vision and dental, people with mild to moderate hearing loss will likely be recommended to seek an over-the-counter product, not reimbursed by Medicare.

Medicare Audiologist Access and Services Act of 2019 (H.R. 1587): The Medicare Audiologist Access and Services Act of 2019 provides certain coverage of audiologist services under the Medicare program, including allowing audiologists to provide diagnostic and treatment services covered by Medicare, classifying audiologists as practitioners, and allowing for direct access to audiologists. Our community often asks if HLAA supports the Medicare Audiologist Access and Services Act of 2019. In our conversations with Congress, we express support for this legislation. Read more about the bill.

We will update this page as information is available. 

Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids

On July 9, 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to consider issuing proposed rules within 120 days for allowing hearing aids to be sold over the counter. These devices will be for adults only with mild to moderate hearing loss. HLAA applauds the Biden Administration for taking action on this important matter.

On October 19, 2021, the FDA released the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for public comments. There will be a 90-day comment period and the FDA might even hold public hearings. All these comments will be taken into consideration before the final rules are published. If everything stays on schedule, the earliest the over-the-counter market would be official is August 2022.

Medicare

Over-the-Counter

Hearing Aids