Costs revisited: So what does it cost to add hearing aid coverage?

Several states have published research findings about the financial impact to insured residents as a result of offering hearing aid insurance benefits to children. A few cents today could not only help improve the lives of children with hearing loss, but has the potential to save local schools and tax payers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Here's just a few examples:


North Carolina: $0.03 per month increase in insurance premium on insured residents.

California: $0.03 per month average increase in health insurance premium increase

Wisconsin: $0.17 cents per privately insured person, per month for hearing aids and cochlear implants.

South Carolina: proposed legislation is estimated at $0.35 annually or approximately $0.03 per month increase in premiums.


Pay this today...                                                               ...or pay this later**:

 

**Children who do not receive early intervention cost schools an additional $420,000 and are faced with overall lifetime costs of $1 million in special education, lost wages, and health complications, according to a 1995 study published in the "International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology." The Department of Education indicates that over 70,000 students, ages 6-21, received special education services in 2002 alone, due to their hearing loss.