S983Referred to Committee

Hearing Device Coverage Clarification Act

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2025-03-12
Introduced
1
Cosponsors
S
Type

Sponsor

Amy Klobuchar
Amy Klobuchar
Democrat · MN · Senator
Votes with party: 56.0% (323 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/K000367

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (1)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

2025-03-12

Source: Congress.gov

Plain-English Summary

This bill would clarify how health insurance plans must cover hearing aids and related devices, ensuring that people with hearing loss have consistent access to these treatments across different insurance types. The legislation aims to remove confusion about what hearing devices insurers are required to pay for, which would help patients and doctors understand their coverage options without having to navigate conflicting rules.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Health

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 983 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 983 To direct the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to clarify that implanted active middle ear hearing devices are prosthetics and are not subject to the hearing aid coverage exclusion under the Medicare program. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 12, 2025 Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Lankford) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To direct the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to clarify that implanted active middle ear hearing devices are prosthetics and are not subject to the hearing aid coverage exclusion under the Medicare program. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Hearing Device Coverage Clarification Act''. SEC. 2. ACTIVE MIDDLE EAR IMPLANT COVERAGE. (a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services shall clarify that implanted active middle ear hearing devices are prosthetics that are not subject to the hearing aid coverage exclusion under section 1862(a)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395y(a)(7)). (b) Prosthetic Defined.--The term ``prosthetic'' has the meaning given such term in section 414.202 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation). <all>