The Department of Managed Health Care will hold a public meeting to share the Essential Health Benefit (EHB) analysis and cost estimates. There will be an opportunity for public comment on the analysis and the benefits that should be considered for inclusion in the new benchmark plan. The public meeting will take place on January 28, 2025, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The presentation will be sent out in advance of the meeting.
The meeting will be held at:
The Department of Managed Health Care
Park Tower, 980 9th Street
5th Floor Conference Room
Sacramento, CA 95814
Members of the public may participate in the meeting by Zoom Video or find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdswNzLJWO, Meeting ID: 840 9693 0925 Password: 374332
Public comments: Any person may submit public comments in writing (by mail or by email). To be considered, mailed comments must be submitted to: Department of Managed Health Care 980 9th Street, Suite 500 Sacramento, CA 95814. Comments may be submitted by email to [email protected]. The public comment period will close on February 4, 2025, at 5 p.m.
Here’s what you can do:
Open up your email and fill in the following:
Submit to: [email protected]
Subject: California’s Essential Health Benefits and Hearing Aids
To the public servants managing hearing loss healthcare,
I am advocating for an update to California’s benchmark plan to include coverage for hearing aids. This would benefit over 20,000 deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Currently, only one in ten health plans in California covers these devices.
Research shows that children who deaf or hard of hearing need to be able to access language by six months in order to develop at the same rate as their hearing peers. This intervention is crucial, delaying it can lead to severe and permanent developmental consequences. Many of these children rely on hearing aids for that crucial access,
The cost of not providing early intervention is approximately $1.8 million per child, not including special education costs. In 2016, the state estimated that California spends over $400 million annually to educate around 14,000 deaf or hard-of-hearing students. The lack of coverage not only harms children but also costs taxpayers millions on an annual basis.
While 33 states have addressed this developmental emergency by mandating coverage, California has not.
Over the past two decades, numerous efforts to address this gap have gained significant legislative backing, underscoring the urgent need for action regarding this critical pediatric health issue in California.
