HEAR Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Representative Mullin
Introduced
Summary
Would add hearing rehabilitation services and hearing aids to Medicare coverage. The bill defines “hearing rehabilitation” to include aural rehabilitation services, comprehensive audiologic assessments, and hearing aids that meet FDA marketing requirements while explicitly excluding over-the-counter hearing aids.
Show full summary
- Seniors and Medicare beneficiaries: Would be able to get covered aural rehabilitation, comprehensive hearing assessments, hearing aids, fittings, instruction, counseling, and periodic refittings. To qualify an assessment must show hearing loss appropriate for a hearing aid and beneficiaries generally must not have received the same aid within the past 3 years.
- Audiologists, suppliers, and clinics: Would see coverage for a wide range of services they already provide, including assessments, procurement, initial fitting and adjustment, training, and rehabilitation like speech reading and auditory training. Covered services include follow-up refittings and adjustments.
- Medicare program and timeline: Hearing aids would be added to durable medical equipment and hearing rehabilitation added to covered services. The bill would take effect upon enactment and the Secretary would set an implementation date between Jan 1 of the year after enactment and Jan 1 three years later.
Your PRIA Score
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Medicare coverage for hearing aids
If enacted, Medicare would cover "hearing rehabilitation," including prescription hearing aids and related aural rehabilitation services. Coverage would include comprehensive audiologic assessments, threshold tests, fittings and adjustments, counseling, auditory training, and periodic refittings. The device must meet FDA marketing rules and cannot be an over-the-counter hearing aid. A physician or a state‑authorized audiologist would have to provide the services under rules the Secretary sets. Generally, Medicare would cover one monaural or two binaural hearing aids every 3 years, unless a test shows hearing has worsened and a sooner replacement is clinically needed. The Secretary would set the exact start date between January 1 of the year after enactment and January 1 three years after enactment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Mullin
CA • D
Cosponsors
Lawler
NY • R
Sponsored 11/20/2025
Dingell
MI • D
Sponsored 11/20/2025
Takano
CA • D
Sponsored 11/20/2025
Dean (PA)
PA • D
Sponsored 11/20/2025
Deluzio
PA • D
Sponsored 11/20/2025
Johnson (GA)
GA • D
Sponsored 11/20/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.govTake It Personal
Get Your Personalized Policy View
Start a Free Government Policy Watch to see how policy affects your household, then upgrade to PRIA Full Coverage for year-round monitoring.
Already have an account? Sign in