An Act To Require All Health Insurers To Cover the Costs of Hearing Aids
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1087
Committee: Insurance and Financial Services
Sponsors: EDMONDS, LA VERRIERE-BOUCHER, BRENNAN, HATCH, PENDLETON, STRIMLING, TREAT, KOFFMAN
Amends: 24 MRSA §2332-N, 24-A MRSA §2761, 24-A MRSA §4252

Legislative Document 
No.IOS7 
S.P.359 
In Senate, March 4, 2003 
An Act To Require All Health Insurers To Cover the Costs of 
Hearing Aids 
Reference to the Committee on Insurance and Financial Services suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Senator EDMONDS of Cumberland. 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Cosponsored by Representative LA VERRIERE-BOUCHER of Biddeford and 
Senators: BRENNAN of Cumberland, HATCH of Somerset, PENDLETON of Cumberland, 
STRIMLING of Cumberland, TREAT of Kennebec, Representative: KOFFMAN of Bar 
Harbor. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the Peovle of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 24 MRSA §2332-N is enacted to read: 
§Z33Z-N. 
Coverage for hearing aids 
All 
individual 
and group nonprofit hospital 
and medical 
services plan policies and contracts and all nonprofit heal th 
care ]?lan pOlicies and contracts must provide coverage for the 
purchase of a hearing aid from an audiologist licensed pursuant 
to Title 32, chapter 77 or a hearing aid dealer licensed pursuant 
to Title 32, cha]?ter 23-A for a person whose hearing loss has 
been documented by 
a 
]?hysician or licensed audiologist. 
For 
]?urposes 
of 
this 
section, 
"hearing 
aid" 
means 
any 
nonex]?erimental, wearable instrument or device designed for the 
ear and offered for the ]?urpose of aiding or compensating for 
im]?aired human hearing, excluding 
batteries and cords and other 
assistive 
listening devices, 
including, 
but 
not 
limited to, 
frequency modulation systems. 
Sec. 2. 24-A MRSA §2761 is enacted to read: 
§Z761. 
Coverage for hearing aids 
All 
indi vidual 
health 
policies 
and 
contracts, 
exce]?t 
accidental 
injury, 
s]?ecified 
disease, 
hospital 
indemnity, 
Medicare supplement, 
long-term care and other limited benefit 
heal th insurance ]?olicies and contracts, must ]?rovide coverage 
for the ]?urchase of a hearing aid from an audiologist licensed 
pursuant to Title 32, chapter 77 or a hearing aid dealer licensed 
]?ursuant to Title 32, cha]?ter 23-A for a person whose hear ing 
loss has been documented by a ]?hysician or licensed audiologist. 
For 
pUrJ20ses 
of 
this 
section, 
"hearing 
aid" 
means 
dl1Y 
nonex]?erimental ( wearable instrument or device designed for the 
ear and offered for the ]?urpose of aiding or com]?ensating fOl 
im]?aired human hearing, excluding 
batter~es and cords _and other 
assistive listening devices, 
including, 
but 
not 
limited 
to, 
frequency modulation systems. 
Sec. 3. 24-A MRS A 92847-L is enacted to read: 
§Z847-L. 
Coverage for hearing aids 
All 
grou]? 
insurance 
policies 
and 
contracts, 
except 
accidental 
injury, 
s]?ecified 
disease, 
hospital 
indemnity, 
Medicare 
sU]?]?lement, 
long-term care and other limited benefit 
health insurance policies and contracts, must ]?rovide coverage 
for the ]?urchase of a hearing aid from an audiologist licensed 
pursuant to Title 32, cha]?ter 77 or a hearing aid dealer licensed 
pursuant to Title 32, 
cha]?ter 23-A for a person whose hearing 
Page I-LR0989(1) 
loss has been documented by a physician or licensed audiologist. 
For 
QurQoses 
of 
this 
section, 
"hearing 
aid" 
means 
any 
nonexperimentaL wearable instrument or device designed for the 
ear and offered for the purpose of aiding or compensating for 
impaired human hearing, excluding 
batteries and cords and other 
assistive 
listening devices, 
including, 
but 
not 
limited 
to, 
freguency modulation systems. 
S~C. 41. 24-A MRSA §4252 is enacted to read: 
§4252. 
Coverage for hearing aids 
All health maintenance organization individual 
and group 
heal th contracts must provide coverage for the purchase of 
a 
hear ing aid from an audiologist licensed pursuant to Title 32, 
chapter 77 or a hearing aid dealer licensed pursuant to Title 32, 
chapter 23-A for a person whose hearing loss has been documented 
by a 
I?hysician or licensed audiologist. 
For purposes of this 
section, 
"hearing 
aid" 
means 
any 
nonexperimental, 
wearable 
instrument or device designed for the ear and offered for the 
purpose of aiding or compensating for impaired human hearing, 
excluding 
batteries 
and 
cords 
and other assistive listening 
devices, 
including, 
but not limited to, 
freguency modulation 
systems. 
S~C. 5. Applicability. 
This Act applies to all 
contracts executed, delivered, issued for delivery, 
renewed on or after January 1, 2004. 
All policies 
are 
deemed 
to 
be 
renewed 
no 
later 
than 
the 
anniversary of the contract date. 
SUMMARY 
policies and 
continued or 
and 
contract:~ 
next 
yearly 
This bill requires 
to provide coverage for 
licensed audiologist or 
hearing loss has 
been 
audiologist. 
heal th insurance policies and contracts 
the purchase of a hearing aid from 
a 
hear ing aid dealer for a person whose 
documented by 
a 
physician 
licensec1