Hello my readers, please turn your attention to a poll that I have in the lower right side of my blog. Let me know if you have health insurance, whether that coverage extends to your hearing aids or not (or partially). I think this is valuable information for all of us to see out in the open. This shouldn’t be secret information that executives hand back on forth on their private jets on the way to a hunting trip in southern England. I want this kind of information to be in OUR hands, that of the hard of hearing community or whatever we want to call ourselves. Bottom line, we are getting duped so lets do something.
I would like the comment area of this post to be where you let people know the specifics (only to the extent you are comfortable sharing that information):
If you would rather send me the information personally and keep it private that way you can contact me on the contact page or at dsigismund@gmail.com (I will not give your information to anyone)
Do you have health insurance? If you do, is it a private or corporate type of coverage? military or veterans insurance? or are you covered by a public assistance program (like Medicaid, Medicare, Early Intervention, Vocational Rehab, or Other State Assistance Program) ?
Does the coverage extend to completely managed care- that of a professional audiologists who tests your hearing and fits the aids?
Did you buy hearing your hearing aids through an online retailer or place like ebay?
Did you decide to purchase just one hearing aid, when you really needed two, or did you completely forego purchasing hearing aids at any time because of costs invovled?
Are you happy with your hearing aids and the services provided to you to fit them?
Let me know anything else you want to let people know.
I’ll post a comment as an example.. Thanks for your participation
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14. March 2009 at 11:35 am
I’m a 31 year old male living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I grew up with a sensoreneural hearing loss in both ears. I need hearing aids to communicate well at work and in life. They are an essential part of my personal health plan.
I have health insurance: a Blue Shield PPO with a high deductible. It doesn’t pay a penny toward my hearing aids or the service involved with fitting and maintaining them. I also spend money to protect my hearing with custom ear plugs. No coverage for protecting my future hearing. I’ve called about my coverage multiple times.
I wear Widex Passion hearing aids and paid about $6,000 for a full managed care package at an audiologist office I respect. All out of pocket.
I am very happy with these hearing aids and I’ve noticed a significant improvement in language comprehension at work and home. I am more relaxed at work knowing that I will hear people.
This insurance situation makes me angry. Not happy with them. I Don’t trust them. I even wonder sometimes, if the case came up where I really needed this insurance for catastrophic coverage (the only reason I have it), If it would do jack shit.
1. May 2009 at 7:32 am
I am the Dir. of Health Care Services for a great discount benefit hearing aid program. Check out our site at truhearing.com. We offer great discounts, professional services and fitting, 3 year warranty, etc.
6. May 2009 at 4:20 pm
Mark, thanks for letting us know about the truehearing.com site. I’m checking it out and it seems like an option worth exploring more. I’ll be sending you an email with some more questions about the site.