Rep. Garballey Supports Hearing Aid Bill for Children

Bill Would Help Cover Cost of Hearing Aids for ChildrenThe following announcement is from State Representative Sean Garballey (D-Arlington, Medford):

Representative Sean Garballey (D-Arlington) testified Wednesday on behalf of legislation that would require insurance companies in Massachusetts to provide coverage for hearing aids for children. Garballey introduced House Bill 910 at the beginning of the session, along with 22 co-sponsors. If passed the bill would require insurance companies to cover up to $1,600 per hearing aid, which typically cost $2,000 each.

“I don’t think we should be creating barriers to something so essential to quality of life,” said Garballey. “This is especially disheartening because certain providers offered some coverage of hearing aids, but now have dropped the benefit.”

Currently, the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) is the only provider in Massachusetts to offer coverage to children requiring hearing aids. The GIC’s benefits are only available to state, housing and certain other authorities’ employees, retirees, and their families.

Along with Garballey and the bill’s 22 other sponsors, House Bill 910 has been championed by the Massachusetts Hearing Aids for Children Coalition (MassHAFCC). The group is a statewide coalition of families of children who are deaf and hard of hearing and professionals. Their current focus is to work together to pass legislation in Massachusetts that would require insurance agencies to cover the cost of hearing aids for children. The group has worked throughout the summer to garner support for this legislation, which mandates coverage for up to $1,600 per hearing aid every three years.

“Precious time that a child would otherwise spend listening and learning to speak is lost if hearing aids remain financially out-of-reach,” said Lisa Adams, founder of MassHAFCC and mother of 5-year old twin boys who need the assistance of hearing aids. “This legislation is about access to hearing aids for children who should not be going without.”

Hearing loss is the most common birth defect in the U.S., affecting three in every 1,000 newborns annually. Experts agree that hearing is critical for speech development, cognitive development, social and emotional well-being and academic achievement. According to records kept by the Department of Public Health, approximately 200 out of 80,000 babies are born with a hearing loss in the Commonwealth each year and approximately 150 of those children require hearing aids.