Hearing aids can be costly. And if you are on a tight budget, it can be challenging to get the pair of hearing aids your doctor or audiologist recommends that you get.
Are Hearing Aids Covered By Insurance?
Typically, medical insurance providers do not cover hearing aids.
With that said, there may be some situations where you can get these costs covered. Below we’ll take a closer look at this to see when you might be able to get health insurance to pay for your hearing aids.
Most medical insurance companies do not provide coverage for hearing aids. And that is very unfortunate.
Hearing aids are important medical devices in the daily lives of people who are experiencing hearing loss. However, the cost of hearing aids are very high.
Usually, hearing aids may cost somewhere around $1,000 to over $6,000. So it can be a real hardship on people since many medical insurance companies do not provide coverage for them.
Why Are Hearing Aids Usually Not Covered?
Why don’t health insurance companies usually cover hearing aids?
Part of the answer is money. A lot of people experience hearing loss and hearing aids are expensive. Most insurance companies don’t factor hearing aids into the cost of their premiums and coverage.
Another reason why hearing aids are not covered by many medical insurances is because they are considered electives. At least by the insurance companies. We’re sure many with hearing loss would argue they are not elective. And we would not argue with them.
When Can You Get Health Insurance Coverage For Hearing Aids?
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), medical insurance coverage for hearing aids is only required in 23 states. However, only children are eligible for coverage for hearing aids in these states.
For those who experience more severe hearing loss, you can get some hearing devices covered. Mainly cochlear implants. Cochlear implants are much more expensive than hearing aids. Costs can be in the $60,000 range for them.
Most health insurance companies will cover them. In fact, about 90% of private health insurance plans offer at least some degree of coverage for cochlear implants.
Medicare will also cover cochlear implants. However, they must be medically necessary in order for Medicare to provide coverage. Original Medicare (Parts A and B), however, does not cover hearing aids..
Even though Original Medicare and many other health insurance companies do not provide coverage for hearing aids, there are some insurance companies that do provide coverage for them.
The first being a couple of Medicare Part C plans. Medicare Part C, also known as Medicare Advantage, are medical insurance plans that are offered through a private insurance company. They provide coverage for everything that Original Medicare covers, but some plans also include additional coverage for hearing aids (and some other treatments not covered by Original Medicare).
Medicaid also provides coverage for hearing aids for children and adults.
Getting Financial Assistance for Hearing Aids
While most health insurance does not cover the costs of hearing aids, that doesn’t mean you can’t get any financial assistance to get the hearing aid you need.
In this article by Hearing Loss Association of America, they provide a list of options you can get for financial assistance. The list includes Hearing Aid Banks & Programs, State Telephone Programs, and more.
There are also discounts for senior citizens and children who are in need of hearing aids. You may also check this list for resources when it comes to financial assistance for hearing aids.
We hope that this article has helped you gain more insight about hearing aids. For more on hearing aids, we recommend getting in touch with a local audiologist / hearing aid expert.