Bill Text: CA AB598 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Hearing aids: minors.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-3)
Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2019-09-13 - Held at Desk. [AB598 Detail]
Download: California-2019-AB598-Amended.html
Bill Title: Hearing aids: minors.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-3)
Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2019-09-13 - Held at Desk. [AB598 Detail]
Download: California-2019-AB598-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Assembly
May 16, 2019 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
| Assembly Bill | No. 598 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Bloom (Principal coauthor: Senator Allen) (Coauthors: Assembly Members |
February 14, 2019 |
An act to add Section 1367.72 to the Health and Safety Code, and to add Section 10123.72 to the Insurance Code, relating to healthcare health care coverage.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 598, as amended, Bloom.
Hearing aids: minors.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies to provide coverage for specified benefits.
This bill would require a health care service plan contract or a health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2020, to include coverage for hearing aids, as defined, for an enrollee or insured under 18 years of age, as specified. Because a willful violation of these requirements by a health care service plan would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares as follows:(a) In the United States, approximately 3.5 percent of adolescents 12 to 19 years of age are deaf or hard of hearing. This includes those who were born deaf or hard of hearing as well as those who later acquired that hearing status.
(b) Studies have shown that early diagnosis of a child’s hearing status and quick intervention is critical to developing language and improving speech outcomes. Research supported by the National Institutes of Health identify the first three years of life as the most intensive period of speech and language
development in children.
(c) Studies have shown that the earlier a deaf or hard of hearing child has access to interventions, the better the child’s spoken language outcomes are.
(d) In 2006, California passed Assembly Bill 2651, implementing a comprehensive newborn hearing screening program to identify the hearing status of newborns and guide parents to appropriate services. The program’s stated goal is to identify hearing status in infants before three months of age and subsequently link those events to intervention services by six months of age.
(e) The National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and American Academy of Pediatrics all stress that newborns should have
their hearing status identified by age one month, diagnosed by three months, and should receive early interventions by six months of age.
(f) California, however, does not require insurance companies to cover hearing aids, making an important intervention financially inaccessible or burdensome to many parents.
(g) Hearing aids provide a significant financial burden to many California families. A 2013 survey found cost to be the most significant challenge to obtaining timely hearing aid fittings, with 30 percent of parents reporting problems paying for hearing aids and 17 percent reporting problems with paying for ear molds. earmolds.
(h) Hearing aids are expensive, costing on average between $1,500 and $4,000 per ear, and up to $6,000 in many cases. Additionally, these devices have to be replaced frequently to accommodate a child’s growth. Families also incur additional costs from hearing aid services, including fittings and repairs.
(i) Fewer than one in 10 Californian children on privately funded plans have coverage for pediatric hearing aids and hearing aid services. As a result, thousands of families are forced to pay the steep costs for these devices out of pocket or forego hearing aids for their children.
(j) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing children have a continuous pathway from screening to diagnosis
to intervention. The lack of insurance coverage remains a significant obstacle to that pathway and must be addressed.
SEC. 2.
Section 1367.72 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:1367.72.
(a) (1) (A) A health care service plan contract issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2020, shall include coverage for hearing aids for all enrollees under 18 years of age when medically necessary.(B) The maximum coverage amount under this section is three thousand dollars ($3,000) per individual hearing aid. An insured may choose to purchase a hearing aid that exceeds the maximum coverage amount, and shall be responsible for the difference between the cost of the hearing aid
and the maximum coverage amount.
(2) Coverage for hearing aids includes an initial assessment, new hearing aids at least every five four years, new ear molds, earmolds, new hearing aids if alterations to existing hearing aids cannot meet the needs of the child, a new hearing aid if the existing one is no longer working, fittings, adjustments, auditory training, and maintenance of the hearing aids.
(b) For purposes of this
section, “hearing aid” means an electronic device designed to aid or compensate for impaired human hearing and any parts, attachments, or accessories, including earmolds, but excluding batteries and cords. This includes both hearing aids traditionally worn behind the ear and auditory osseointegrated devices, whether implanted or worn externally.
(c) This section shall not apply to Medicare supplement, dental-only, or vision-only health care service plan contracts.
SEC. 3.
Section 10123.72 is added to the Insurance Code, to read:10123.72.
(a) (1) (A) A heal excluding batteries and cords. This includes both hearing aids traditionally worn behind the ear and auditory osseointegrated devices, whether implanted or worn externally.(c) This section shall not apply to accident-only, specified disease, hospital indemnity, Medicare supplement, dental-only, or vision-only health insurance policies.
