Hear this

This customization is a big part of why hearing aids cost what they do, and this cost is the leading reason why so many people decide not to purchase a hearing aid.

Quality of life
In recent years, there has been a subtle but noticeable shift to move towards some measure of coverage.

Knowles Electronics, a hearing aid manufacturer, released a survey in 2008 noting that nearly 40 percent of purchasers received some assistance from their insurance provider. That increased access to assistance is a small but necessary step toward the goal of having hearing care recognized as a true quality-of-life need.

A common stereotype is that the bulk of hearing-care patients are senior citizens. There’s no doubt that seniors generally do require some form of hearing aids, just like they usually need at least reading glasses, if not more. However, hearing problems don’t discriminate by age, gender, or ethnicity. The following statistics provide a closer look at those who are affected by some form of hearing loss:

• One out of every 12 people under 30.
• One out of every eight people under 50.
• 1.4 million children are born with it or develop it at a young age.
• 10 million adults between 45 to 64.

With statistics like that, it becomes quite clear that hearing care would impact the quality of life for many people. Those are the numbers, but how do hearing issues affect day-to-day life for people?

In 1999, the National Council on the Aging (NCOA) and the Hearing Industries Association released findings from an immense study of 2,069 hearing-impaired people, along with 1,710 related relatives and friends. The studies found that:

• Many people overcompensated for hearing loss by acting defensive, pretending they heard things, and other negative actions.
• Respondents noted how the lack of proper hearing impacted their safety.
• Related friends and family expressed frustration and difficulty with social interactions during these moments.

Conversely, the same study group demonstrated marked emotional improvements upon using a hearing device, including significantly lower depressive symptoms, tension, insecurity, and angry outbursts.

In short, the impact of hearing devices (more importantly, the restoration of the sense of hearing) created an abundance of positive emotions, ones that can impact everything from communication to productivity to family and work life. It’s clear that providing proper hearing care is a critical part of the greater health care package.

The question, then, is: How can brokers add hearing health care coverage to their portfolio?

Options
Without a coverage plan, general hearing care options remain limited for most people. In many cases, it’s as simple as an out-of-pocket payment, which can be extremely difficult to financially absorb. Some coverage options are usually available, but they all come with various limitations, particularly for adults.

Medicaid: Evaluation and device coverage is available for children under 21. For adults over 21, Medicaid coverage depends on individual state regulation.

Medicare: For seniors on Medicare, only a hearing exam is covered if you have Plan B and the exam is ordered by a doctor. Similarly, diagnostic hearing exams are covered if prescribed by a doctor. In most cases, hearing aids and other devices are not covered by Medicare.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA): When implemented, PPACA (colloquially known as “Obamacare”) will guarantee annual hearing tests for children under 21. However, it won’t provide additional coverage for hearing aids.

Flexible spending accounts (FSAs): FSAs vary by provider, but one PPACA-related caveat is the new maximum contribution limit of $2,500 per contributor, down from the old limit of $5,000. Moreover, the list of items that is FSA-approved varies greatly from provider to provider, and there’s no guarantee that hearing devices will be covered.

Given the alternatives, hearing care options are sensible to explore. A number of private coverage options exist, including various plans from my company, HearPO.

When you are considering hearing health care carriers, one question to ask is: Who’s behind the plan?

A plan founded by audiologists might have a different approach than a plan founded by an insurance company that added hearing benefits as an afterthought, only after it also began to offer a wide variety of other products.

Another question to ask is what percentage of your clients a carrier will be able to serve. If, for example, you handle businesses of all sizes, you will want to work with hearing care carriers that can meet the needs of employers of all sizes.