Dear Illinois Senators,
We’ve got a bill up for consideration, S. B. 2516, and I hope you’ll pass it. You see, there are five generations of folks in my family who wear hearing aids. Every time we need new hearing aids, we need a doctor’s prescription to order them. Every time we inquire about insurance coverage for our new pieces of ear technology, we’re told, “Sorry, insurance companies rarely cover hearing aids.”
It is time to change that.
From the research I’ve done, it appears that it would cost anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars to provide coverage for hearing aids in Illinois. There really shouldn’t be any opposition from insurance companies– after all, hearing aids have to be medically prescribed and they certainly aren’t cosmetic devices as they’re sometimes described.
You see, without hearing aids, I literally cannot enjoy any music, hear the doorbell or turn at the sound of my kid’s voices. I can’t hear a single thing without my hearing aids.
Senators, think about the Illinois residents who have been prescribed hearing aids but who are facing the uphill battle of no insurance coverage for these medical devices. You can change that for Illinois residents. You can make history in Illinois and say, “Yes, the time is now to provide insurance coverage for hearing aids for Illinois residents of all ages.”
I will thank you. My family will thank you. The deaf and hard of hearing residents and their families of Illinois will thank you.
Read on for more:
Comments
4 responses to “Need Viagra? Insurance Will Cover It–Not Hearing Aids”
Ugh, I HATE the fact that legislation forcing insurance companies to cover hearing aids is so difficult. Guess what else insurance won’t cover? Nutritional formulas for failure-to-thrive kiddos (and for kids with gastrointestinal diseases who require them for their sole form of nutrition). Some kids end up with G-tubes because the only way insurance will cover the formula is if the child has a G-tube (even if they don’t need one). Also, insurance won’t cover prosthetic limbs.
But Grandpa’s Viagara? No problem!
My hearing aids allow me to teach full time. I am a professional, a taxpayer, a productive and politically active member of society. Insurance coverage for hearing aids is an investment in independence for many, many people.
Daisy I agree. I couldn’t do my public services job at a public library if I didn’t have hearing aids. I don’t make a lot of money, but the job keeps my family out of debt while we send our three kids to college. Recently I learned that Medicare will pay for six prosthetic bras per year for women who have undergone mastectomies. The cost of these bras are about $200 apiece– meaning there’s a budget of over $1200.00 per year! While I would never begrudge a woman the expense of a prosthesis after undergoing the trauma of breast cancer, I fail to see how hearing aids could be any less important.
Karen, I thank you for publicizing your letter. You have a great way with words and you’re providing a nice launching point for me to start pestering my state senators on this issue as well.
This is so frustrating! I hope you’re successful in your state so we can use that to motivate PA to make insurance pay for aids after age 21.