RD175 - Report on Funding for Children's Hearing Aids
Executive Summary: Findings: The Commonwealth of Virginia has mandated a program to test all newborns for hearing impairment. This mandate is founded on strong evidence that early identification and intervention will reduce the language delays typically experienced by children with hearing loss. To ensure effective early intervention, early amplification, most typically with hearing aids, is essential. Hearing aids vary in cost but can average from $700 to $3600 per device and many children require two aids. Unfortunately, most insurers in Virginia do not provide coverage for the purchase of hearing aids. Families may be able to access various state or private funding sources, however, most of those have strict income requirements and many are funds of "last resort" which require that all other options be exhausted. The delays generated by the search for funding reduce the benefit derived from early identification. Current data from various programs in Virginia indicate that nearly 600 Virginia children under the age of six have a hearing loss. Medicaid in Virginia reports providing hearing aids (including cochlear implants) to 62 children through age six in Federal Fiscal Year 2002. Other programs, including Care Connection and Infant and Toddler Connection of Virginia, may be providing some financial assistance but it is limited and exact numbers of families receiving such assistance are unknown. Private funding sources are also unable to provide information on financial assistance provided to Virginia families for the purchase of hearing aids. Two existing, potential funding sources for assistance with the purchase of hearing aids were revealed to be virtually untapped. The Assistive Technology Loan Fund Authority(ATLFA), which provides low-interest or no-interest loans for the purchase of disability-related technology, and the Consumer Services Fund (CSF), which provides grants to individuals with disabilities who cannot qualify for ATLFA loans or other assistance programs, report that they have not received any applications for children's hearing aids in recent years. Additional designated funds would be needed to ensure that these programs could support an influx of requests for children's hearing aids. Recommendation: Designate and promote the ATLFA and CSF as sources of funding for families seeking assistance for the purchase of hearing aids for children under the age of six. Families would be eligible for the zero percent loan program if their income fell between 200% and 300% of the Federal Poverty Level. This provides assistance for families who do not qualify for FAMIS or other state programs. |
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