Hearing Aid Bills (passed Friday, July 14, 2006; Effective Immediately)
The Hearing Aid Bills (H8254 and S2383) became into the law without Governor's signature last Friday (July 14, 2006) and it is effective momentarily after the passage.
The hearing aids are required to be covered by the insurance* for $1,500 per hearing aid, per ear, every three (3) years for children under 19 years old and for $700 per hearing aid, per ear, every three (3) years for adults, 19 years old and older.
Plus with employer's choice, the insurance* offer an optional rider for additional hearing aid coverage (after first minimum of dollars on hearing aid). This is for everyone including children and adults.
(Insurance* = every individual or group health insurance contract, or every individual or group hospital or medical expense insurance policy, plan, or group policy delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state but this shall not apply to contracts, plans, or group policies subject to the small employer health insurance availability act, chapter 50 of this title.)
Legal Advocacy
Victory for AG Bell Children’s Legal Advocacy Program:
Ruling Orders Reimbursement for Educational-Related Expenses
Washington, DC, November 10, 2004 - The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) Children’s Legal Advocacy Program scored another victory on behalf of children who are deaf or hard of hearing seeking spoken language education in the public schools. In E.N. vs. St. Johns County School Board (FL), the State of Florida Division of Administrative Hearings ordered reimbursement of educational-related expenses for the family of a three-year old girl born profoundly deaf.
In the October 27 decision, the judge ruled that a varying exceptionalities classroom, which contains children with a variety of special needs, offered by the St. Johns County School Board did not meet the requirements for a child with hearing loss using spoken language communication. The girl uses a cochlear implant to process sound and learned to listen and talk at the Clarke-Jacksonville Auditory Oral Center for Deaf Children.
In the decision, the judge ruled that, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requirement for free and appropriate education (FAPE), the evidence indicated that none of the County’s programs offered an educational setting designed specifically for pre-schoolers with cochlear implants using spoken communication. The evidence also showed that the programs lacked professionals with the necessary knowledge, training and experience, as well as parent training and on-going mapping services for the cochlear implant. Furthermore, the judge found that the proposed placement would likely cause the child’s language skills to regress, acknowledging the "narrow window of opportunity" to acquire language during the pre-school years.
"AG Bell’s goal is to ensure that all children who are deaf or hard of hearing and use spoken language as their primary mode of communication have access to appropriate educational placements and related services," said K. Todd Houston, Ph.D., Executive Director/CEO, AG Bell. "This ruling sends a clear message about the specific elements that should be in place to support any child with hearing loss who is learning to listen and talk."
Launched in 2001, AG Bell’s Children’s Legal Advocacy Program has successfully advocated for appropriate spoken language services in several cases, including The Matter of D.D. vs. Foothill Selpa (CA) and Megan C. vs. ECI LifePath Systems (Texas). The program also provides information and resource referrals to families of children with hearing loss through parent advocacy services.