I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6052 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage 
under the Medicare Program of hearing aids and related hearing services. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 8, 2018 
Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. POCAN, Ms. CLARKE of New 
York, and Mr. CICILLINE) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 
the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide 
for coverage under the Medicare Program of hearing 
aids and related hearing services. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Help Extend Auditory 
Relief (HEAR) Act of 2018’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:53 Jun 12, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6052.IH
H6052
dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. MEDICARE COVERAGE OF HEARING REHABILITA-
TION. 
(a) COVERAGE OF AURAL REHABILITATION SERV-
ICES.—Section 1861(s)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395x(s)(2)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (FF), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (GG) by inserting ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(HH) aural rehabilitation services (as de-
scribed in subsection (jjj)(1)(A));’’. 
(b) COVERAGE OF HEARING AIDS AS DURABLE MED-
ICAL EQUIPMENT.—Section 1861(s)(8) of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(s)(8)) is amended by inserting 
‘‘and hearing aids (as defined in subsection (jjj)(3))’’ be-
fore the period. 
(c) HEARING REHABILITATION AND HEARING AID 
DEFINED.—Section 1861 of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395x) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘Hearing Rehabilitation 
‘‘(jjj)(1) The term ‘hearing rehabilitation’ means— 
‘‘(A) aural rehabilitation services (described in 
paragraph (2)) which meet such requirements as the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:53 Jun 12, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6052.IH
H6052
dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
Secretary prescribes and which are furnished by a 
physician or qualified audiologist, who is legally au-
thorized to furnish such services under the State law 
(or the State regulatory mechanism provided by 
State law) of the State in which the services are fur-
nished; and 
‘‘(B) hearing aids (as defined in paragraph 
(3)). 
‘‘(2) The services described in this subparagraph in-
clude— 
‘‘(A) aural rehabilitation services; 
‘‘(B) in the case of an individual who has a 
hearing loss (as defined by the Secretary), a com-
prehensive audiologic assessment to determine if a 
hearing aid is appropriate and to determine the need 
for other diagnostic medical or audiologic testing; 
and 
‘‘(C) a threshold test to determine audio acuity. 
‘‘(3)(A) The term ‘hearing aid’ means a hearing aid 
described in subparagraph (B), including the services de-
scribed in subparagraph (C) furnished by a physician or 
qualified audiologist, who is legally authorized to supply 
such hearing aid under the State law (or State regulatory 
mechanism provided by State law) of the State in which 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:53 Jun 12, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6052.IH
H6052
dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
the hearing aid is supplied, to an individual described in 
subparagraph (D). 
‘‘(B) A hearing aid described in this subparagraph 
is any wearable instrument or device for, offered for the 
purpose of, or represented as aiding individuals with, or 
compensating for, hearing loss that meets requirements of 
the Food and Drug Administration for marketing. 
‘‘(C) The services described in this subparagraph in-
clude— 
‘‘(i) audiology services (as defined in subsection 
(ll)(2)); 
‘‘(ii) a hearing aid assessment to determine the 
appropriate hearing aid for the individual; 
‘‘(iii) procurement of an appropriate hearing 
aid; 
‘‘(iv) initial fitting and adjustment of the hear-
ing aid; 
‘‘(v) appropriate instruction on the use of the 
hearing aid; 
‘‘(vi) periodic refittings and adjustments; and 
‘‘(vii) rehabilitation, including counseling on 
hearing loss, speech reading, and auditory training. 
‘‘(D) The individuals described in this subpara-
graph— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:53 Jun 12, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6052.IH
H6052
dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
‘‘(i) have been determined (as a result of a com-
prehensive audiologic assessment) to have a hearing 
loss which can be appropriately treated with a hear-
ing aid; 
‘‘(ii) have not been supplied with one monaural 
hearing aid or two binaural hearing aids during the 
preceding 3 years; and 
‘‘(iii) have had a comprehensive audiologic as-
sessment which indicates that the hearing of such 
individual has deteriorated since such individual was 
last supplied with a hearing aid such that a hearing 
aid of a different type is appropriate for such indi-
vidual.’’. 
(d) INCLUSION
OF AUDIOLOGY REHABILITATION 
SERVICES.—Section 1861(ll)(2) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395x(ll)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and re-
habilitation’’ after ‘‘balance assessment’’. 
(e) EXCEPTION TO EXCLUSIONS FROM COVERAGE.— 
Section 1862(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395y(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (O), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (P); by striking the 
semicolon at the end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:53 Jun 12, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6052.IH
H6052
dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS