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Legislative Changes

• Hearing Instrument Coverage - 2020 Changes
  • Starting January 1, 2020 insurers in Illinois are required to provide patients with OPTIONAL hearing coverage.
    Illinois residents have seen several changes over the last few years to improve their hearing health coverage in Illinois.  A law passed in 2018 requires coverage for replacement hearing aids every three years for children with hearing loss 18 and younger (IL Public Act 100-1026).  In August of 2019, Governor Pritzker signed House Bill 3508 which requires insurers to offer optional coverage or reimbursement for hearing instruments & related services for all individuals.  Insurance companies will handle this in a number of different ways, from providing an elective coverage option, providing their own hearing care program, or simply rolling hearing health services into their standard coverage. 
    What this means for our instrument dispensers is that there is likely to be an increase in covered individuals, although not a guarantee that EVERY individual is covered. There is going to be a lot of confusion in these early days regarding this new law, and what is important that we do not make assumptions about coverage and verify benefits. Health care in the United States can be confusing for patients, to say the least. Make sure that patients understand that you may be attempting to help, but as a provider, you are not involved in the arrangement between them and their health insurers.