ADA Urges Reform in Hearing Healthcare Coverage to Improve Patient Outcomes

FRANKFURT, KY — Today, the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) released a seminal position statement, A Call to Action on Coverage of Hearing Care: Principles for Public Policies that Optimize Patient Outcomes, advocating for substantial reforms in public policy and insurance regulations governing hearing healthcare coverage.

"Hearing benefit plans and third-party administrators often place hearing aid sales over patient care, undervaluing essential diagnostic and rehabilitative services," said Stephanie Czuhajewski, MPH, CAE, Executive Director of ADA. "Because of disparities in oversight of hearing health coverage schemas, patients are frequently left without crucial audiologic services, severely undermining their health and quality of life.”

A Call to Action on Coverage of Hearing Care: Principles for Public Policies that Optimize Patient Outcomes highlights gaps in accountability for hearing benefit plans and related TPAs, when compared with other benefit programs for medical, vision, and dental coverage, and proposes 30 specific reforms. The most important reform is simply to require hearing benefit plans and TPAs to be classified as “health benefit plans” or a similar classification that will require them to register with each state and be subject to the purview of the State Insurance Commission or similar entity, so that they can be fully regulated as insurance.

"These recommendations support the Audiology 2050 Initiative, which prioritizes patient well-being as its core tenet,” said ADA President, Amyn Amlani, Ph.D. “ADA believes that audiologists should be empowered to provide care based on evidence-based practices and medical necessity, rather than restrictive, one-size-fits-all hearing benefit plans. For example, ADA believes that the fitting fee that an audiologist earns should be based on the type and complexity of the services that they deliver, rather than the type, brand or price of the hearing aid that they select for the patient—and ADA also firmly believes that consumers and policymakers will agree.”

Not only does *A Call to Action on Coverage of Hearing Care: Principles for Public Policies that Optimize Patient Outcomes *set forth clear policy recommendations to protect both patients and audiologists, it sets forth a meaningful call to action and a pledge to advocate for these reforms at the state and federal level.

“It’s time for us step up and stand up to unfair policy and trade practices, and it’s time for policymakers step forward to ensure that consumers with hearing loss have access to safe, effective, and affordable hearing care,” said Dr. Amlani.

ADA seeks volunteer “AuDvocates”, to support this critical policy initiative, emphasizing that broad-based involvement is essential for meaningful legislative and regulatory change. Consumers, audiologists, and other key stakeholders are encouraged to volunteer. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Stephanie Czuhajewski at sczuhajewski@audiologist.org or at (859) 321-1595.

SOURCE: ADA