Re: Hearing aid legislation

[Guest guest]

You go girl! That's excellent Kerry! May I share your email with our newborn

hearing screening task force here in NH? That's our next task too - now they

pay for the diagnosis, let's pay for the treatment!

Have a great holiday...

Barbara

--- You wrote:

Whew! Well, I'm writing to let you all know that you can, in fact, fight

city hall. Or in this case, the State House. :-)

Almost two years ago now, I met with one of my state legislators, a

senator who's been in the Rhode Island General Assembly for many years.

I explained to him that I have a son who has a hearing loss and uses

hearing aids, and we discussed costs and insurance coverage. He was

surprised that hearing aids for children weren't covered by insurance,

and he said he was willing to introduce a bill asking insurance

companies to cover them...but *I* had to do all the legwork.

(Barbara, you can tell that's why I haven't been heard from

anywhere lately!)

I spent a few months talking to everyone I knew...parents, audiologists,

teachers of the deaf, people in the health department...anyone I could

think of to get the data I needed to make a compelling case.

(Here is a link to one draft of the data I presented.

http://www.techtorial.com/halaws/bullets.html )

Then I went to the State House and testified in front of the

subcommittee that oversees insurance, and I guess made a pretty

compelling case. However, there was a lot of budget work to be done, and

that year, my bill didn't make it out of committee.

This year, it was reintroduced. Ultimately, what I was looking for was

full insurance coverage for hearing aids for anyone under the age of 18

in Rhode Island. After negotiations with insurance companies, and some

polling of what folks thought legislators would support, we compromised

on $1,000 per ear every three years. To make a very long story very

short, the wording was changed, we had another hearing, the bill passed

the Senate, it went to the House, it passed the House, and now it is LAW.

http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/statutes/title27/27%2D18/27%2D18%2D60.htm

* " 27-18-60 Hearing aids. - * (a) Every individual or group health

insurance contract, or every individual or group hospital or medical

expense insurance policy, plan, or group policy delivered, issued for

delivery, or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2005 shall

provide coverage for one thousand dollars ($1,000) per individual

hearing aid, per ear, every three (3) years, for children under the age

of eighteen (18) years of age, covered as a dependent by the policy

holder and shall also provide, as an optional rider, coverage for

hearing aids. "

Best Christmas present I ever got, I think. :-)

Hope you're all well, and have a great holiday.

--- end of quote ---

[Guest guest]

You go girl! That's excellent Kerry! May I share your email with our newborn

hearing screening task force here in NH? That's our next task too - now they

pay for the diagnosis, let's pay for the treatment!

Have a great holiday...

Barbara

--- You wrote:

Whew! Well, I'm writing to let you all know that you can, in fact, fight

city hall. Or in this case, the State House. :-)

Almost two years ago now, I met with one of my state legislators, a

senator who's been in the Rhode Island General Assembly for many years.

I explained to him that I have a son who has a hearing loss and uses

hearing aids, and we discussed costs and insurance coverage. He was

surprised that hearing aids for children weren't covered by insurance,

and he said he was willing to introduce a bill asking insurance

companies to cover them...but *I* had to do all the legwork.

(Barbara, you can tell that's why I haven't been heard from

anywhere lately!)

I spent a few months talking to everyone I knew...parents, audiologists,

teachers of the deaf, people in the health department...anyone I could

think of to get the data I needed to make a compelling case.

(Here is a link to one draft of the data I presented.

http://www.techtorial.com/halaws/bullets.html )

Then I went to the State House and testified in front of the

subcommittee that oversees insurance, and I guess made a pretty

compelling case. However, there was a lot of budget work to be done, and

that year, my bill didn't make it out of committee.

This year, it was reintroduced. Ultimately, what I was looking for was

full insurance coverage for hearing aids for anyone under the age of 18

in Rhode Island. After negotiations with insurance companies, and some

polling of what folks thought legislators would support, we compromised

on $1,000 per ear every three years. To make a very long story very

short, the wording was changed, we had another hearing, the bill passed

the Senate, it went to the House, it passed the House, and now it is LAW.

http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/statutes/title27/27%2D18/27%2D18%2D60.htm

* " 27-18-60 Hearing aids. - * (a) Every individual or group health

insurance contract, or every individual or group hospital or medical

expense insurance policy, plan, or group policy delivered, issued for

delivery, or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2005 shall

provide coverage for one thousand dollars ($1,000) per individual

hearing aid, per ear, every three (3) years, for children under the age

of eighteen (18) years of age, covered as a dependent by the policy

holder and shall also provide, as an optional rider, coverage for

hearing aids. "

Best Christmas present I ever got, I think. :-)

Hope you're all well, and have a great holiday.

--- end of quote ---