Does Insurance Cover Anything or Are We On Our Own?

[Dog Lover]

Just curious. Had anyone's insurance covered hearing aids for the hearing loss due to your AN? Was just curious if a hearing loss due to an AN is treated any differently. If it's not, doesn't seem quite fair.

Cathy

[leapyrtwins]

Cathy -

From what I know of insurance companies and hearing aids, 99.9% don't cover them - regardless of the reason for the hearing loss.

BAHAs may or may not be covered by insurance; it depends on the terms of the policy.   BAHAs "get around" the hearing aid classification because technically they are considered implants.

Jan

[Pooter]

FYI, my insurance says in their benefits book that there is an $1,000 maximum benefit every 36 months towards hearing aids.  That is BlueCross BlueShield - Texas PPO Blue.

Regards,
Brian

[Jim Scott]

Cathy:

I can't speak from personal experience but I don't believe there is a definitive answer to your question because each insurance company has different rules and interpretations of their policy language.  The general consensus seems to be: 'no'.  However, I would suggest you dig out your policy and look for 'exclusions' to see if hearing aids are totally excluded or partially covered, as Brian's policy does.  You might be one of the lucky ones but if not, at least you'll know.  Good luck! 

Jim

[Syl]

The way it was explained to me is that my employer didn't purchase coverage for a hearing aid.

Syl

[Dog Lover]

I just looked it up. Drat - not covered at all on my policy.. ...

[Pooter]

I wonder if it could be coded in such a way that it's deemed "medically necessary" and possibly covered?  My insurance company has told me that I need to get a letter from my doctor saying that it was medically necessary..  Just a thought?

Regards,
Brian

[Dog Lover]

After looking up my insurance coverage last night I decided what the heck - and I wrote an email to them. They responded today.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INQUIRY. YOUR POLICY DOES NOT PROVIDE BENEFITS FOR HEARING AIDS. HOWEVER, IT WOULD BE RECOMMENDED TO HAVE YOUR PHYSICIAN SUBMIT DOCUMENTATION INDICATING THE MEDICAL CONDITION ASSOCIATED WITH THE HEARING LOSS TO DETERMINE IF THIS MAY BE COVERED UNDER THE PLAN

So, I'm gonna give it a shot. It wouldn't be the first time I've persued getting insurance to cover something that they initially said they wouldn't and end up getting it covered.

Stay tuned...

Cathy

[leapyrtwins]

Cathy -

this sounds like it is definitely worth pursuing.  All they can say is no - and if they say yes, so much the better.

Good luck!

Jan

[sgerrard]

Cathy,

I agree, it is worth a shot. My experience was that insurance works best when it is done with all the right paper work going through all the right channels. They basically say no to anything unless they have documentation in front of them that provides a basis for extending coverage. Get them some audiograms that show significant unilateral hearing loss due to a benign neoplasm of the brain/nervous-system (insurance speak for having an AN). It just might work.

Steve

[Jim Scott]

Cathy:

I concur with the opinions of others to pursue an insurance claim for a medically necessary hearing aid.  My wife has battled with Blue Cross over claims (hers and mine) and has often ended up getting the coverage she sought, after much back-and-forth with multiple phone calls and reams of documentation.  The 'secret' is to know what your policy says and if you think you may have a reasonable shot, as you do, be both patient and tenacious.  It's worth it.  I wish you complete success in your quest for hearing aid coverage. 

Jim