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Arkansas lawmakers recently approved House Bill 1930 that requires insurance companies to offer coverage for hearing aids. The law, Act 1179, does not mandate coverage of the cost of hearing aids; it requires insurance companies to offer coverage to employers in the state, effective January 1, 2010. However, if the employer chooses to add this option, the health plan must provide hearing aid coverage of no less than $1,400 per ear every three years for individuals of all ages.
In 2008, Colorado, Delaware, and New Jersey enacted hearing aid mandates that require insurance companies to cover the cost of hearing aids for children, and several other states currently have similar legislative mandates pending before their state legislatures. For more information, please contact Rend Al-Mondhiry, ASHA's Director of State Legislative and Regulatory Advocacy, at ral-mondhiry@asha.org or by phone at 800-498-2071, ext. 5665.
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