Bill Text: HI SB2439 | 2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Hearing Aids.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-03-10 - Referred to HHH, CPC, FIN, referral sheet 24 [SB2439 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2022-SB2439-Amended.html
|
THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2439 |
|
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 |
S.D. 2 |
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO HEARING AIDS.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that approximately three to four out of every one thousand children born in Hawaii are identified as having permanent hearing loss. According to the National Institutes of Health, about one-third of Americans between the ages of sixty-five and seventy-five and around one‑half of those older than seventy-five have some degree of hearing loss.
According to the Lions Club, the cost for one digital hearing aid can be around $3,000 or more. Some people with permanent conductive hearing loss, for whom conventional hearing aids are not appropriate, may benefit from amplification through bone conduction hearing aids, which can also cost over $3,000. Furthermore, about fifty per cent of childhood hearing loss is due to genetic causes, meaning that more than one member in a family may need to wear hearing aids, thereby multiplying the financial burden of purchasing hearing aids.
The
legislature also finds that, currently, most health insurance plans in Hawaii
cover the purchase of hearing aids, but the amount of coverage may be low, leaving
the patient with a large copayment. As a
result, it is not unusual for people with hearing loss to choose to delay or
forgo the purchase of hearing aids because they are unable to pay for them. A 2005 study by the Better Hearing Institute
estimated that untreated hearing loss resulted in a loss of income per household
of up to $12,000 per year. Hawaii's medicaid
managed care plans cover hearing aid evaluation, selection, purchase, and
fitting every three years, and subsequent hearing aid checks, hearing testing,
ear molds, repairs, and batteries. However, federal medicare insurance plans for
the elderly do not cover hearing aid purchases and related services, and only
cover hearing testing.
According
to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, twenty-four states
currently mandate insurance coverage for hearing aids. In states that specify the frequency of
replacing hearing aids, the range is every two to five years, with thirteen of those
states requiring replacement every three years. Fifteen states have parameters on the amount
of coverage that the insurance companies must provide, ranging from $1,400 to
$4,000 per ear or hearing aid.
The
legislature further finds that the auditor published report No. 14-10 (2014), a
sunrise study on the advisability of mandating insurance coverage for hearing
aids, as proposed in Senate Bill No. 309, S.D. 1, regular session of 2013 (S.B.
No. 309). The auditor found that most
insurance plans in Hawaii already covered or planned to cover the cost of hearing
aids by 2015 and that although the coverage levels at that time might require a
large copayment, those insurance plans would have complied with S.B. No. 309, had
it been enacted. The legislature notes
that the auditor's report expressed concerns that S.B. No. 309, had no limits on
coverage, such as minimum or maximum costs covered by insurers or frequency of
placement. This Act addresses these
concerns and includes a minimum coverage benefit of $1,500 per hearing aid for
each hearing-impaired ear every thirty-six months.
The
purpose of this Act is to require health insurance coverage in the State for
hearing aids for all types of hearing loss and specify the minimum amount of
coverage and frequency for replacement of hearing aids under the coverage.
SECTION 2. Chapter 431, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to article 10A to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§431:10A- Coverage
for hearing aids. (a) Each individual and group accident and health
or sickness policy, contract, plan, or agreement issued or renewed in the State
on or after January 1, 2023, shall provide coverage for the cost of hearing
aids for the policyholder and individuals covered under the policy, contract, plan,
or agreement.
(b) Hearing aid purchases covered under this
section shall be subject to a minimum benefit of $1,500 per hearing-impaired ear
every thirty-six months.
(c) The policyholder and individual covered under
the policy, contract, plan, or agreement may choose a hearing aid that is priced
higher than the benefit payable under this section without financial or
contractual penalty to the provider of the hearing aid.
(d) This section shall not prohibit an insurer subject
to this section from providing coverage that is greater or more favorable to
the policyholder and individuals covered under the policy, contract, plan, or agreement.
(e)
Coverage required under this section may
be subject to deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, or annual or maximum
payment limits that are consistent with deductibles, copayments, coinsurance,
and annual or maximum payment limits applicable to other similar coverage under
the policy, contract, plan, or agreement.
(f)
Any literature or correspondence an
insurer sends to policyholders, including annual information that is made
available to policyholders, shall include information concerning the coverage
required by this section; provided that the information concerning the coverage
required by this section shall also be posted on the insurer's website.
(g) This section shall not apply to limited
benefit health insurance as provided in section 431:10A-607.
(h) For the purposes of this section,
"hearing aid" shall have the same meaning as in section 451A-1 and
includes conventional and bone conduction hearing aids."
SECTION 3. Chapter 432, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to article 1 to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§432:1- Coverage
of hearing aids.
(a) Each individual and group hospital or medical
service plan contract issued or renewed in the State on or after January 1, 2023,
shall provide coverage for the cost of hearing aids for the member and
individuals covered under the individual and group hospital or medical service
plan contract.
(b)
Hearing aid purchases covered under this
section shall be subject to a minimum benefit of $1,500 per hearing-impaired ear
every thirty-six months.
(c)
The members and individuals covered
under the plan contract may choose a hearing aid that is priced higher than the
benefit payable under this section without financial or contractual penalty to
the provider of the hearing aid.
(d)
This section shall not prohibit a mutual
benefit society subject to this section from providing coverage that is greater
or more favorable to the member and individuals covered under the individual
and group hospital or medical service plan contract.
(e) Coverage required under this section may be
subject to deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, or annual or maximum payment
limits that are consistent with deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, and
annual or maximum payment limits applicable to other similar coverage under the
individual and group hospital or medical service plan contract.
(f) Any literature or correspondence a mutual benefit
society sends to members, including annual information that is made available
to members, shall include information concerning the coverage required by this
section; provided that the information concerning the coverage required by this
section shall also be posted on the mutual benefit society's website.
(g)
For the purposes of this section,
"hearing aid" shall have the same meaning as in section 451A-1 and
includes conventional and bone conduction hearing aids."
SECTION 4. Section 432D-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§432D-23 Required provisions and
benefits. Notwithstanding any
provision of law to the contrary, each policy, contract, plan, or agreement
issued in the State after January 1, 1995, by health maintenance organizations
pursuant to this chapter, shall include benefits provided in sections
431:10-212, 431:10A-115, 431:10A-115.5, 431:10A-116, 431:10A-116.2,
431:10A-116.5, 431:10A-116.6, 431:10A-119, 431:10A-120, 431:10A-121, 431:10A-122,
431:10A-125, 431:10A-126, 431:10A-132, 431:10A-133, 431:10A-134, 431:10A-140,
and [431:10A-134,] 431:10A- , and chapter 431M."
SECTION 5. The benefit to be provided by health maintenance organizations corresponding to the benefit provided under section 431:10A- , Hawaii Revised Statutes, as contained in the amendment to section 432D-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, in section 4 of this Act, shall take effect for all policies, contracts, plans, or agreements issued in the State on or after January 1, 2023.
SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2023.
Report Title:
Deaf and Blind Task Force; Kupuna Caucus; Health Insurance Coverage; Hearing Aids
Description:
Requires health insurance policies and contracts issued on or after 01/01/2023 to provide coverage for the cost of hearing aids at a minimum of $1,500 per hearing aid for each hearing-impaired ear every thirty-six months. Effective 01/01/2023. (SD2)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
