July 3, 2019

PAYING FOR HEARING AIDS WITH HEALTH INSURANCE

Will insurance cover the cost of hearing aids?

Maybe. This all depends on your insurance policy. Some insurance companies may help cover the cost of hearing aids, while others offer no assistance whatsoever. Policies are often region-specific, so the only real way to know whether you have coverage is to check your plan coverage details or call your insurance company and ask for details.

Sadly, research demonstrated that only 1 in 4 people get help paying for their hearing aids, with fewer than 1 in 20 receiving full coverage from their insurance company; but more people than ever are receiving help from their medical insurers. In 2008 only 13% received help from their medical insurance when paying for hearing aids, while 25% are now receiving some level of coverage.

Coverage by state

Unfortunately, there are only three states that mandate insurance coverage for hearing aids for adults. If you live in one of those states, count yourself lucky!

  • Arkansas - $1,400 per aid, every 3 years
  • New Hampshire - $1,500 per aid, every 60 months
  • Rhode Island - $800 per aid, every 3 years

If you don’t live in one of these three states, you may still have some form of coverage.

What about the insurance companies?

Most of the major hearing aid companies are in the same ballpark with coverage somewhere around $1000 per hearing aid. Please remember that the dollar figures below represent recollections and guesses of hearing aid consumers, and may not accurately depict differences among companies. Please check with your own insurance company to see what is covered by your specific policy!

Insurance Company

Coverage per hearing aid

BCBS* Association: $1,205.27134 (134 responses)

UnitedHealth Group: $1,363.6497 (97 responses)

Anthem BCBS*: $1,408.7254 (54 responses)

Aetna: $1,160.2937 (37 responses)

Cigna: $1,231.6223 (23 responses)

Kaiser Permanente: $1,004.0516 (16 responses)

Humana: $821.889 (9 responses)

Other: $1,305.09136 (136 responses)

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