Under New Law, Maryland Health Insurers Must Pay for Children’s Hearing Aids

A "groundbreaking law" intended to increase "access to treatment for hearing loss in infants" will take effect this week in Maryland, requiring health insurers to cover hearing aids for children, the Washington Post reports. But the law will cover "less than half of the state's insured population" and a "carefully negotiated clause" will enable insurers not to inform parents that "they may qualify for the benefit." All newborns in the state currently are required to be given hearing tests, which generally occur before they leave the hospital, and insurers are required to cover the cost of the tests. Under the new law, insurers in Maryland must now pay "up to" $1,400 per hearing aid every 36 months, until the child reaches the age of 18. Studies show that children "whose hearing loss is identified in the first six months of life demonstrate superior language skills over those identified later." Donna Sorkin, executive director of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, said, "We recommend parents have babies fitted for hearing aids within the first month of life, but putting the financial burden on families is wrong. If they get the follow-up they need, kids can be on par with their normal hearing peers by the first grade." The Post reports that currently 34 states and the District of Columbia require hearing loss screening for newborns, but only four states -- Connecticut, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Maryland -- "insist that insurers help cover the cost of hearing aids." The new law applies to "new policies" written after Oct. 1 and to older policies as they "come up for renewal" within the next 12 months.

Exceptions and Compromise
According to the Post, plans "written by insurers based in other states," those covering federal employees, self-funded plans and small-group plans are exempt from the "mandate." However, the Maryland Health Care Commission is scheduled in late October to determine if it should "extend the mandate" to these plans. The Post also reports that the original bill called for insurance companies to notify their customers about the new hearing aid benefit. Fran Doherty, president of government affairs for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in Maryland, said that the "proposed notification did little more than add cost for the insurers." The clause was dropped. Gilbert Herer, director of the Children's Hearing and Speech Center at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., said that he does not think the "compromise ... will be a problem, because health care providers are aware of insurance and other funding sources for hearing aids" such as Medicaid. Also, Maryland is creating a "hearing aid loaner bank" for children up to the age of three, to assist parents who are unable to afford a hearing aid immediately. The program will offer a "standard" six-month loan, but the time period "may be extended in some cases" (Phalen, Washington Post, 10/2).