{"id":30701,"date":"2015-05-09T13:04:26","date_gmt":"2015-05-09T18:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=30701"},"modified":"2015-05-09T13:04:26","modified_gmt":"2015-05-09T18:04:26","slug":"texas-lawmakers-debate-coverage-for-child-hearing-aids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2015\/05\/09\/texas-lawmakers-debate-coverage-for-child-hearing-aids\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas lawmakers debate coverage for child hearing aids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas lawmakers debate coverage for child hearing aids<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Phil Prazan<\/p>\n

May 5, 2015<\/p>\n

AUSTIN (KXAN) \u2014 It is estimated every day two or three children are born in Texas deaf or hard of hearing. But Texas does not require insurance companies cover the cost of hearing aids for children. A bill sponsored by Rep. Rodney Anderson, R-Irving\/Grand Prairie, could change that. It is also known as the Hearing Aid Coverage for Children Act.<\/p>\n

\u201cProgressive hearing loss means he will continue to lose little hearing, and eventually he\u2019ll be deaf,\u201d Chrystal Smith said about her 6-year-old son Daniel.<\/p>\n

And keeping up with a bag full of supplies can add up. By the time Daniel is 18, she expects to pay more than $40,000 out of pocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat doesn\u2019t include the equipment, the battery, the cleaning, the audiologist, the ENT, the speech therapy, and all of that,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n

Texas does not require her insurance to cover hearing aids, like it does for glasses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be saving for college, we\u2019re saving for hearing aids,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n

She hopes the Hearing Aid Coverage for Children Act will pass by the end of session so lawmakers will hear the needs of Daniel, and other Texas children.<\/p>\n

\u201cHB 2979 is an important step to ensure that children receive the hearing aids they need early in life; not only does it prepare those children to be productive later in life, it also potentially saves the state of Texas hundreds of thousands of dollars in special education and rehabilitation costs per child,\u201d said Anderson.<\/p>\n

The bill was left pending in committee after a public hearing, waiting for a vote.<\/p>\n

This issue is not unique to Texas. Only 20 states require health insurance companies to cover the cost of child\u2019s hearing aids.<\/p>\n

SOURCE:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/kxan.com\/2015\/05\/05\/texas-lawmakers-debate-coverage-for-child-hearing-aids\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Texas lawmakers debate coverage for child hearing aids By Phil Prazan May 5, 2015 AUSTIN (KXAN) \u2014 It is estimated every day two or three children are born in Texas deaf or hard of hearing. But Texas does not require…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[4621,87,23613,24,23610,1412,23611,153,23609,470,23612,17],"class_list":["post-30701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-article","tag-children","tag-chrystal-smith","tag-deaf","tag-ent","tag-hard-of-hearing","tag-hb-2979","tag-hearing-aid","tag-hearing-aid-coverage-for-children-act","tag-insurance","tag-rodney-anderson","tag-texas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-7Zb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31123,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2015\/06\/14\/how-the-texas-legislature-fails-and-fails-again-to-hearing-aid-for-children-coverage-act\/","url_meta":{"origin":30701,"position":0},"title":"How the Texas Legislature fails and fails again to Hearing Aid for Children Coverage Act","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"June 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"GRAY MATTERS How the Texas Legislature fails and fails again Hot-button issues draw attention. Little bills that could help people get lost. May 31, 2015 It's a particularly stressful time at work. A major deadline is looming, you're drowning in piles of paperwork and lots of people are paying attention.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24367,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/08\/21\/wal-mart-sued-in-texas-for-unlicensed-sale-of-hearing-aids\/","url_meta":{"origin":30701,"position":1},"title":"Wal-Mart sued in Texas for unlicensed sale of hearing aids","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Wal-Mart sued in Texas for unlicensed sale of hearing aids August 17, 2013 Members of the Texas Hearing Aid Association have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) based on claims that the world's largest retailer sells hearing aids without the state-mandated license. The group is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9216,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/02\/07\/hearing-aid-tax-credit-attracts-record-113th-co-sponsor\/","url_meta":{"origin":30701,"position":2},"title":"Hearing Aid Tax Credit Attracts Record 113th Co-Sponsor","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"February 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Hearing Aid Tax Credit Attracts Record 113th Co-Sponsor Sunday, February 7, 2010 Washington, DC, January 26, 2010 - Hearing Aid Tax Credit legislation in the House of Representatives (H.R. 1646) shattered previous co-sponsorship records when Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) became the 113th Rep. to co-sponsor the bill on January 21.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22731,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/04\/24\/second-life-for-hearing-aids\/","url_meta":{"origin":30701,"position":3},"title":"Second life for hearing aids","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"April 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"April 24, 2013 Second life for hearing aids Q: What can I do with my Mom\u2019s hearing aids? A: Please bring them in. My practice has a number of ways we can use your mother\u2019s hearing aids to help others hear better. First, if we originally fit your mother with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13618,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/03\/21\/hb-2946-insurance-coverage-for-speech-language-and-hearing\/","url_meta":{"origin":30701,"position":4},"title":"HB 2946 Insurance Coverage for Speech, Language and Hearing","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 21, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"HB 2946 Insurance Coverage for Speech, Language and Hearing \u00a0 WEBSITE: http:\/\/txsicha.blogspot.com\/ \u00a0 Currently very few group insurance plans offer any type of coverage for speech, language or hearing services, and those that do often have very low limits. We are trying to change this and we need your help!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30770,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2015\/05\/18\/deaf-club-raises-money-for-hearing-aids\/","url_meta":{"origin":30701,"position":5},"title":"Deaf Club raises money for hearing aids","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Deaf Club raises money for hearing aids KVUE May 17, 2015 AUSTIN -- Run to Hear 5K is being held Lake Pflugerville next weekend at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 23, 2015. The initiative was started by three friends who grew up together with a hearing disability. Bridget Black, one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30701"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30702,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30701\/revisions\/30702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}