{"id":185,"date":"2010-12-01T18:34:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-01T18:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/?p=185"},"modified":"2014-07-16T22:26:59","modified_gmt":"2014-07-16T22:26:59","slug":"whats-the-scoop-on-medi-cal-hearing-aid-coverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/whats-the-scoop-on-medi-cal-hearing-aid-coverage\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the scoop on Medi-Cal hearing aid coverage?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Written by Kim Cantrell, CFILC\u2019s Director of Programs<\/i><\/div>\n
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With so many cuts to Medi-Cal and other social service programs, it makes sense that many of us are confused when it comes to Medi-Cal coverage. Lately the AT Network has received many questions from people throughout California who want to know if Medi-Cal still covers hearing aids and hearing exams, and if so, under what circumstances. Medi-Cal reduced benefits coverage in 2009<\/a>, which makes now a good time to review Medi-Cal\u2019s scope of audiology benefits, including hearing aids and hearing exams. <\/div>\n
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Medi-Cal currently covers hearing aids for people with at least a 25 dB hearing loss in the better ear and moderate to severe loss in the other ear when prescribed by a qualified physician. Since July 1, 2009, Medi-Cal no longer covers the hearing exam needed prior to being prescribed hearing aids. <\/div>\n
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However, there are exceptions. According to the Medi-Cal website<\/a>, people in the following situations still receive hearing exam coverage:<\/div>\n
a. Pregnant women will receive the optional benefit if it is part of their pregnancy-related care or for services to treat a condition that may cause problems in pregnancy.<\/div>\n
b. Children or young adults who are 20 years old and younger and receive full scope Medi-Cal.<\/div>\n
c. People who live in a licensed nursing home such as a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF), Intermediate Care Facility (ICF), ICF for the Developmentally Disabled (ICF-DD) and Sub Acute Facility.<\/div>\n
So unless you are under 21-years-old or live in a nursing home, chances are you have to pay for a hearing exam out of pocket if Medi-Cal is your only insurance coverage. I find this process frustrating because people who can\u2019t afford the hearing exam are forced to go without needed hearing aids. <\/div>\n
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Once you get your hearing aids, Medi-Cal no longer covers testing them unless you are one of the populations listed under A, B and C above. You are also on your own for replacement batteries unless you are EPSDT-eligible. <\/span>The good news is that Medi-Cal continues to cover hearing aid repair and replacement parts. <\/div>\n
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Have you had any experiences with Medi-Cal\u2019s new audiology coverage limitations? Have you or someone you know who has Medi-Cal been unable to receive a needed hearing exam? <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Kim Cantrell, CFILC\u2019s Director of Programs With so many cuts to Medi-Cal and other social service programs, it makes sense that many of us are confused when it comes to Medi-Cal coverage. Lately the AT Network has received many questions from people throughout California who want to know if Medi-Cal still covers hearing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[11,18,24],"class_list":["post-185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing","tag-funding","tag-insurance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}