Proposed Legislation
Health benefit plan coverage for hearing aids for children with hearing loss, birth through age 21, up to $2,500 per ear every 36 months.
Background
- The NC General Assembly mandated newborn hearing screening for all babies in 1999, with full implementation effective August 1, 2000.
- Cost of newborn hearing screening averages $230 per infant.
- Total average cost to screen in 2007: 130,886 live births x $230 = $30,103,780
- Approximately 3.6% of babies require rescreens within a month after birth for an average cost of (3,740 x $230 =) $860,200
- Approximately 1.7 children per 1,000 births or 223 children under the age of 3 years, in NC were diagnosed with permanent hearing loss in 2007 at an average cost of $11,375 per child for a total of $2,536,625.
- 13 states--RI, CT, MD, CO, NM, MN, KY, OK, LA, MO, NJ, ME, DE--have passed legislation requiring insurance coverage for hearing aids for children.
- A pair of hearing aids costs from $,3.000 to $6,000.
Cost to Provide Health Plan Benefit to Children, Birth through Age 21
- Estimated number of children in NC with hearing loss (birth through age 21) = 3,102
- Estimated number of children in NC with hearing loss (birth through age 21) covered by Medicaid = 1,613 (52%)
- Estimated number of children with hearing loss (birth through age 21) needing health plan benefit coverage for hearing aids = 1,489
- Estimated number of children with hearing loss (birth through age 21) accessing benefit annually = 496
- Estimated cost of benefit per year = $1,984,000
- Estimated number of insured North Carolinians = 5,106,140
- Estimated insurance premium increase per insured NC citizen = $ .39
Data used in the above calculations was obtained from a variety of resources including, UNC Hospitals, NC Division of Public Health, NC Department of Public Instruction's Annual Exceptional Children Headcount, NC Office of Education Services, National Ranking of States with Uninsured Population, BEGINNINGS For Parents of Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, NC Division of Services of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
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