| 1 | 1 | | I |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 500 |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove the exclusion |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | of Medicare coverage for hearing aids and examinations therefor, and |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | for other purposes. |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | JANUARY16, 2025 |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Mrs. D |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | INGELL(for herself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. SMITHof Washington, Mr. |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | D |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | OGGETT, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. NOR- |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | TON, Mr. LARSONof Connecticut, Mr. POCAN, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. HARDER |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | of California, Mrs. M |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | CIVER, Mr. JOHNSONof Georgia, Ms. BYNUM, Ms. |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | T |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | LAIB, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. JACK- |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | SONof Illinois, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, and Mr. LIEU) introduced the following |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be sub- |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | A BILL |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | the exclusion of Medicare coverage for hearing aids and |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | examinations therefor, and for other purposes. |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Medicare Hearing Aid 4 |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | Coverage Act of 2025’’. 5 |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 12, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H500.IH H500 |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | •HR 500 IH |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | SEC. 2. REMOVING MEDICARE EXCLUSION OF COVERAGE 1 |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | OF HEARING AIDS AND EXAMINATIONS 2 |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | THEREFOR. 3 |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | (a) I |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | NGENERAL.—Section 1862(a)(7) of the Social 4 |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395y(a)(7)) is amended by strik-5 |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | ing ‘‘hearing aids or examinations therefor,’’. 6 |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | (b) E |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendment made by 7 |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | this section shall apply to items and services furnished on 8 |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | or after January 1, 2026. 9 |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | SEC. 3. GAO STUDY AND REPORT ON HEARING AID PRO-10 |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | GRAMS. 11 |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | (a) S |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | TUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 12 |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | States shall conduct a study of programs, including Fed-13 |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | eral programs and health insurance coverage, that provide 14 |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | assistance for hearing aids and related examinations for 15 |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | individuals with hearing loss. Such study shall include an 16 |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | examination of the number of individuals in the United 17 |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | States with hearing loss who need hearing aids, their cov-18 |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | erage under such programs, and the effectiveness of such 19 |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | programs in meeting such need. Such study may also ad-20 |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | dress programs that are designed to reduce or mitigate 21 |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | the incidence of hearing loss. 22 |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | (b) R |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | EPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 23 |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | date specified in section 2(b), the Comptroller General 24 |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | shall submit a report to Congress on the study conducted 25 |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | under subsection (a). Such report shall include such rec-26 |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 12, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H500.IH H500 |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | •HR 500 IH |
|---|
| 69 | 69 | | ommendations on changes in such programs, including the 1 |
|---|
| 70 | 70 | | establishment of new programs, as would meet the needs 2 |
|---|
| 71 | 71 | | of individuals with hearing loss. 3 |
|---|
| 72 | 72 | | Æ |
|---|
| 73 | 73 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 12, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H500.IH H500 |
|---|
| 74 | 74 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS |
|---|