Hearing aids, cochlear implants: Missourians could soon receive Medicaid coverage

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Missourians could soon have an easier time treating hearing loss as a bill moves quickly through the general assembly.

A bill to expand Mo HealthNet coverage to hearing aids and cochlear implants was heard in a Missouri Senate committee this week after passing the Missouri House with bipartisan approval. The bill needs approval from a senate committee before going to the full senate. That’s where it stalled last year due to fighting between lawmakers, but bill sponsors are more optimistic this year.

Representatives Cameron Parker and Jo Doll are carrying a bill that would expand coverage under MoHealthNet for all eligible Missourians; currently it’s only available for pregnant women, blind people or children.

One-in-10 Missourians experience hearing loss according to the University of Missouri at Kansas City, but only a third of them receive hearing aids or cochlear implants.

As a teacher for the deaf, Julia Biedenstein sees first hand what a difference cochlear implants and hearing aids make in a person’s life. But in Missouri, the cost of these hearing treatments is not covered by Medicaid, leaving the most financially challenged in the state having to pay out of pocket, or go without.

“If you can’t communicate with others, whether in an educational situation or a social situation, people tend to withdraw,” Biedenstein said. “And when they withdraw from these social situations or work situations, it often leads to depression and isolation, and we certainly don’t want anyone to experience that.”

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