Relating to health insurance coverage for hearing aids for covered persons age eighteen and younger and including applicability provisions

The coverage must include ear molds as necessary to maintain optimal hearing aid fit. The bill also requires coverage of any health care services related to a hearing aid, including audiological habilitation or audiological rehabilitation, as recommended by a health care professional or audiologist. The bill limits coverage to one hearing aid for each ear during each three-year period for a covered person age or younger. The bill requires that coverage under this Code section shall not be less favorable than coverage a health carrier offers for general physical illness. Health carriers are prohibited from imposing less favorable cost sharing requirements than those imposed by the health carrier for general physical illnesses. The commissioner is required to adopt rules to administer the requirements of the bill. The bill applies to third-party payment provider contracts, policies, or plans delivered, issued for delivery, continued, or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2020, by the third-party payment providers enumerated in the bill. The bill specifies the types of specialized health related insurance which are not subject to the coverage requirements of the bill.