PP1108 - Unlocking Potential: How State Funding Can Positively Impact Pediatric Hearing Health Care

Abstract:
Financial barriers continue to hinder access to hearing healthcare for many families seeking early intervention for children with hearing loss. Few states mandate coverage for children’s hearing aids, resulting in significant costs for families and educational systems. To address this, Sertoma of Florida established the Children’s Hearing Aid Program (CHAP) to assist children aged 0-18 living under 400% of the federal poverty level. This presentation will discuss Sertoma's advocacy efforts, the program's positive impact on families and audiologists, and strategies for statewide advancement, along with the implementation process and support protocols for navigating applications in a large institution.

Summary:
Although there are many organizations, advocates, and institutions working to make hearing health care more accessible, financial burden continues to be a barrier of care for many families pursuing hearing intervention. Despite the known importance of early hearing intervention in children, only 32 states require private health insurance plans to include coverage for children’s hearing aids and hearing aid services. These gaps in care not only affect the individual and family but can be costly to institutional entities such as the education system due to the extra support they require. Children who do not receive early intervention for hearing loss cost schools an additional $420K and are faced with overall lifetime costs of $1 million in special education, lost wages, and health complications (Honeycutt et al., 2004; Johnson et al., 1993; Mohr et al., 2000). In an effort to ease the financial barrier to hearing health care in the pediatric population, Sertoma of Florida created the Children’s Hearing Aid Program (CHAP). The CHAP is designed to provide assistance in obtaining hearing aids and other hearing technologies for children residing in Florida aged 0-18 under 400% of the federal poverty level. The program was specifically aimed to meet the needs of families who do not qualify for Medicaid services, but still struggle financially to purchase expensive hearing aids and cover the cost of recurring follow up appointments. This poster will explore Sertoma’s advocacy efforts, the positive impact of the CHAP on families and audiologists, and strategies for advancing the program statewide at a fundamental level. Additionally, we will discuss the implementation process of this state-funded initiative within a large institution and the protocols developed to assist families in navigating the application process. Learning objectives include being able to identify common barriers in obtaining hearing technology in early childhood, listing protocols necessary for successful implementation of a state funded financial relief program, and outlining benefits for both clinician and family on using state funded resources specifically for hearing related technology.