Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District
Issues
Health
Inslee to Introduce Hearing Device Follow Up Care Legislation
On Thursday, January 16th, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee announced that he plans to introduce the "Medicare Audiologic Rehabilitation Act of 2003."
What is the Problem?
- Nine percent of the U.S. population report some degree of hearing impairment, with prevalence rising to nearly 80% among persons over 80 years of age. Approximately 1,465,000 individuals aged 3 years and older are deaf in both ears. Over 28 million Americans with hearing loss would benefit from the use of hearing aids.
- Severe to profound hearing loss is expected to cost society an additional $297,000 over the lifetime of an individual.
- Difficulty in understanding conversation affects employment performance, familial and peer relationships, and interactions with health care professionals. Older persons with untreated hearing impairments suffer many negative effects, including more sadness and depression, worry and anxiety, paranoia, emotional turmoil and insecurity, and less social activity.
- About 16% of people eventually stop wearing their hearing aids, while a similar number rate their hearing aid usage as unsatisfactory. But hearing aid users are more likely to have positive experiences with hearing amplification devices after they undergo audiologic rehabilitation processes such as counseling, auditory training and the addition of appropriate selected assistive technology.
How Does Inslee's Legislation Solve the Problem?
The Medicare Audiologic Rehabilitation Act provides reimbursement for follow-up services relating to hearing aids and other hearing devices to ensure their proper function. By covering follow-up rehabilitation for individuals with hearing aids and other hearing assistive devices, the legislation will help millions of Americans, and especially seniors, to lead fuller lives by ensuring that the hearing technologies they have invested in truly correct their hearing problems.
Inslee's legislation would provide reimbursements to audiologists under Medicare for the process known as audiologic rehabilitation (AR). AR is the delivery of services and technology that enable functional communication, and it includes education regarding hearing loss and its management, as well as the management of various technologies, evaluation of progress and assessment of treatment outcome.
[ Medicare Audiologic Rehabilitation Act of 2003 ]
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