Bill Details
HR.1921 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-03-06 - Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced Date
2025-03-06
Policy Area
Health
Committees
View committees (2)
Cosponsors
6
0
0
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would require Medicare officials to say, within 60 days after the bill becomes law, that fully implanted active middle ear hearing devices count as prosthetics rather than hearing aids. That matters because Medicare does not pay for hearing aids under its current coverage rules, but prosthetics can be covered. The goal is to make it clear that these implanted hearing devices should not be denied coverage just because they are used to improve hearing.
- It directs the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, known as CMS, to issue this clarification quickly after enactment.
- The bill says these devices should be treated as prosthetics under Medicare rules, using the existing federal definition of “prosthetic.”
- By making this change, the bill would remove confusion about whether Medicare can cover fully implanted active middle ear hearing devices.
Official Summaries
Hearing Device Coverage Clarification Act
This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to specify that fully implanted active middle ear hearing devices are prosthetics (not hearing aids) and are covered under Medicare.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1921 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1921
To direct the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services to clarify that fully implanted active middle ear hearing
devices are prosthetics and are not subject to the hearing aid coverage
exclusion under the Medicare program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 6, 2025
Mrs. Fischbach (for herself and Ms. Craig) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and
in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services to clarify that fully 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 the
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services shall clarify that fully 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.
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