A latest law that requires coverage of hearing aid by private insurers is creating confusion on who could benefit from this mandate.
The new hearing aids law, which took effect on Wednesday, makes Maine the 5th state that requires the coverage. The law requires the private insurers to include hearing aids cost up till $3000/ear in every 3 years for individuals having hearing loss.
However, the law carves exemptions as well, including one meant for the self-insured firms. Most of the huge corporations, including the state’s biggest employer MaineHealth, self-insure health coverage as it’s generally inexpensive. MaineHealth is the biggest employer in the state, with over 18,000 employees, as per the Maine labor data.
Meanwhile, the National programs, like Medicare, which are operated by the fed government, remain unaffected by the state mandate. This implies that the new hearing aids requirement will not be applicable to most of the Mainers aged 65 years or above who are dependent upon Medicare for their health coverage. Besides, hearing aids would also not be covered under the supplement plans of Medicare, which several people over the age of 65 years purchase to cover out part of their health care cost that is not covered under Medicare.
