{"id":9216,"date":"2010-02-07T23:28:22","date_gmt":"2010-02-08T04:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=9216"},"modified":"2010-02-08T00:35:34","modified_gmt":"2010-02-08T05:35:34","slug":"hearing-aid-tax-credit-attracts-record-113th-co-sponsor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/02\/07\/hearing-aid-tax-credit-attracts-record-113th-co-sponsor\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing Aid Tax Credit Attracts Record 113th Co-Sponsor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hearing Aid Tax Credit Attracts Record 113th Co-Sponsor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday, February 7, 2010<\/p>\n

Washington, DC, January 26, 2010 – Hearing Aid Tax Credit legislation in the
\nHouse of Representatives (H.R. 1646) shattered previous co-sponsorship
\nrecords when Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) became the 113th Rep. to co-sponsor
\nthe bill on January 21. Less than a year after introduction, the legislation
\nsurpassed co-sponsorship totals achieved in the Republican-majority 109th
\nCongress (ending in 2006) and the Democratic-majority 110th Congress (ending
\nin 2008) \u2013 both of which peaked at 112 co-sponsors at the conclusion of each
\nfull two-year session.<\/p>\n

With the remainder of 2010 left for the 111th\u00a0Congress, tax credit supporters are
\nhopeful that the bill will be considered\u00a0as part of any health reform proposals
\nthat emerge in the coming months or\u00a0major tax legislation that must be considered
\nin either 2010 or 2011 to\u00a0address numerous expiring tax provisions.<\/p>\n

The bi-partisan Hearing Aid Tax Credit was introduced by Reps. Carolyn
\nMcCarthy (D-NY) and Vern Ehlers (R-MI) to provide assistance to some of the
\n32 million people who need a hearing aid to treat their hearing loss.
\nMedicare expressly excludes coverage of hearing aids as do most private
\ninsurance policies, and as a result, cost is cited as a prohibitive factor
\nby two thirds of the people who do not treat their hearing loss. If enacted,
\nH.R. 1646 would provide a $500 tax credit per hearing aid for children and
\npeople age 55 and older. While hearing aids can treat 95% of all hearing
\nlosses, only 22% of those who could benefit from them actually use them.
\nRep. McCarthy notes that \u201cthis bill would provide some assistance to people
\nwho need hearing aids to reach their full potential, and it would do so in a
\nfiscally responsible way.\u201d<\/p>\n

HIA\u2019s Chairman, Jerry Ruzicka, points out that \u201caffordability of hearing
\nhealthcare \u2013 not just the hearing aids themselves but importantly the
\nprofessional testing, fitting and training that makes them perform at peak
\n\u2013 is a concern. HIA brought together manufacturers, professionals, and the
\nconsumers who depend on our technology, and we all agreed that a tax credit
\nfor hearing aid purchases is the best way to improve access. The unity
\nbehind our legislation is one of its key strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, the Hearing Aid Tax Credit is actively supported by most hearing
\nhealth organizations including the Alexander Graham Bell Assn for the Deaf
\nand Hard of Hearing (AG Bell), Academy of Doctors of Audiology\u00a0(ADA),
\nAmerican Academy of Audiology (AAA), American Speech Language Hearing Assn
\n(ASHA), Hearing Industries Association (HIA), Hearing Loss Assn of America
\n(HLAA) and International Hearing Society (IHS).<\/p>\n

Working as a coalition and in partnership with Congressional champions, the
\nhearing health community has worked to focus attention on the importance of
\nhearing health and the burdens associated with the lack of financial
\nassistance for treatment. \u201cAccess to hearing technology, coupled with early
\nidentification of hearing loss, is absolutely essential for children to
\nlearn to listen and talk,” said Catherine Murphy, Director of Communications
\n& Public Affairs for AG Bell. “Parents of children with hearing loss
\nshouldn’t have to sacrifice other essentials in order to give their children
\naccess to hearing devices they desperately need. We thank those members of
\nCongress who have supported this important issue.”<\/p>\n

In addition to coalition efforts on Capitol Hill, local AG Bell and HLAA
\nchapters have hosted events for Representatives in their districts to
\ndemonstrate the importance of this legislation to voters. In addition, more
\nthan 30,000 letters have been sent to Congress since 2008 by people visiting
\n[2]www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org. Brenda Battat, executive director of HLAA,
\nnotes that she is \u201cdelighted that HLAA members have played a key role in
\nreaching this new milestone. They have hosted joint events in California,
\nMaryland, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin for
\nRepresentatives who are supportive of financial assistance for people who
\nneed hearing aids. Many other HLAA members have written letters and paid
\nvisits to their representatives which have paid off in gaining such strong
\nCongressional support.\u201d
\nLinks:\u00a0http:\/\/www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Chris Gustafson, BC-HIS, ACA, President of the International Hearing
\nSociety, saluted the achievement of this milestone. “Reaching this new
\nthreshold for the Hearing Aid Tax Credit is tangible evidence that lawmakers
\nare increasingly recognizing the importance of improving access to the
\nbenefits of amplification for their hearing-impaired constituents. IHS is
\npleased to be working jointly with providers, patients, and manufacturers in
\nsupport of this legislation.” The participation of IHS member hearing health
\nprofessionals has been instrumental to the success of the Congressional
\nevents in various states.<\/p>\n

Visit http:\/\/www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org<\/a> for information about the bill,
\nor contact Andy Bopp, abopp@bostrom.com with any questions.<\/p>\n

Source:
\n http:\/\/www.healthyhearing.com\/releases\/45432-hearing-aid-tax-credit <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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…<\/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":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[3099,3097,114,3091,3100,3098,3096,3086,3094,1840,1813,3090,3084,695,153,1186,3095,3092,3093,1355,3089,3083,3101,3085,3088,2025,3087,2023,2021,17,694,2284],"class_list":["post-9216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-aaa","tag-academy-of-doctors-of-audiology","tag-ada","tag-ag-bell","tag-alexander-graham-bell-association-for-the-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing","tag-american-academy-of-audiology","tag-american-speech-language-hearing-association","tag-andy-bopp","tag-asha","tag-california","tag-capitol-hill","tag-catherine-murphy","tag-chris-gustafson","tag-dc","tag-hearing-aid","tag-hearing-aid-tax-credit","tag-hearing-industries-association","tag-hearing-loss-association-of-america","tag-hia","tag-hlaa","tag-hlaa-chapters","tag-international-hearing-society","tag-jerry-ruzicka","tag-lawmakers","tag-local-ag-bell","tag-maryland","tag-michigan","tag-nevada","tag-pennsylvania","tag-texas","tag-washington","tag-wisconsin"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-2oE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11732,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/09\/20\/hearing-aid-tax-credit-texas-rally-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":9216,"position":0},"title":"Hearing Aid Tax Credit: Texas Rally Update","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"September 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Hearing Aid Tax Credit: Texas Rally Update Friday, September 17, 2010 Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) urged a capacity crowd of 120 Texas Hearing Aid Tax Credit supporters to help him work for passage of the bill (H.R. 1646) in the final months of this Congressional session or in the new\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":800,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2006\/11\/22\/change-of-control-in-house-and-senate-alters-landscape-for-hearing-aid-tax-credit\/","url_meta":{"origin":9216,"position":1},"title":"Change of control in House and Senate alters landscape for hearing aid tax credit","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"November 22, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"November 10, 2006 Change of control in House and Senate alters landscape for hearing aid tax credit On Tuesday, control of the both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate shifted to the Democrats for the first time since 1994. This change will have major repercussions for a wide variety\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":6394,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/05\/05\/important-legislative-issue-tax-credits-for-hearing-aids\/","url_meta":{"origin":9216,"position":2},"title":"Important Legislative Issue: Tax Credits for Hearing Aids","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Important Legislative Issue: Tax Credits for Hearing Aids http:\/\/www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org\/ Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act What would the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act do? * Provide a tax credit towards the purchase of each hearing aid of up to $500 per hearing aid, available once every 5 years. It\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":3036,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2008\/03\/03\/congressional-brunch-hearing-aid-tax-credit-houston\/","url_meta":{"origin":9216,"position":3},"title":"Congressional Brunch: Hearing Aid Tax Credit – Houston","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 3, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Congressional Brunch - Hearing Aid Tax Credit DATE: March 15, 2008 TIME: 10:00 a.m. - 12 noon ADDRESS: 16090 City Walk Sugar Land, Texas Come and join us! You and your family are invited to join the Texas Chapter of Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of\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":2263,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2007\/09\/24\/please-support-the-hlaa-fall-walk4hearing\/","url_meta":{"origin":9216,"position":4},"title":"Please support The HLAA Fall Walk4Hearing","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"September 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello, all I would like to invite all of you to support the Hearing Loss Association of America Fall Walk4Hearing. There will be 6 Fall walks. I have supplied links below to access information on the various walks. They will be in Chicago, Houston, Odessa\/Permian Basin, TX, New England, North\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":1566,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2007\/04\/27\/hla-announces-agreement-with-the-wirless-industry\/","url_meta":{"origin":9216,"position":5},"title":"HLA Announces Agreement with the Wirless Industry","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"April 27, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Press Release ...... BREAKING NEWS - HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH THE WIRELESS INDUSTRY Washington, DC, April 24, 2007: The Hearing Loss Association is delighted to announce it has reached a consensus agreement with the wireless industry on increasing the accessibility of wireless telephones over the next\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\/9216","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=9216"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9232,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9216\/revisions\/9232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}