Ameritas Adds Hearing Coverage to its Healthcare Plans |
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Written by U. S. Insurance News
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Monday, 30 June 2008 |
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Ameritas Group, well known for its dental and vision health plans, has
recently announced the addition of hearing health coverage. SoundCareSM, the new hearing health plan, will cover hearing exams, hearing aids, and hearing aid maintenance.
“The same technology explosion that delivered useful and fun devices, like MP3 players, cell phone earpieces and gaming headsets, is having an unwelcome side effect: hearing damage at ages younger than anyone ever imagined,” explains Ameritas Group President Ken VanCleave.
“Life’s getting louder,” said VanCleave. “The result is a nation of people who are losing hearing in their fifties, forties and even earlier—well before the age you would traditionally expect to start seeing impairment in the general population.”
Because hearing damage cannot be reversed, VanCleave believes that hearing care needs will continue to grow. He encourages people to get a baseline hearing check at an early age followed up with regular visits to determine if hearing loss is occurring.
Ameritas Group also announced plans to promote EPIC Hearing Health Care to SoundCare members. “EPIC offers a nationwide alliance of ear physicians, ENTs and audiologists for expert hearing evaluations and treatments,” explained Van Cleave. “People who want to take advantage of this resource can use the services of EPIC’s trained hearing counselors for help in finding an alliance provider, scheduling an exam, receiving treatment, submitting their claim and more.”
EPIC works with the leading hearing aid manufacturers to provide the lowest possible costs to patients. “Treatment for hearing loss primarily means hearing aids, and advancing technology has resulted in dramatic improvements,” said EPIC President and CEO Brad Volkmer. “But high performance can come at a price; hearing aid costs can range up to $3,500 each. Our purchasing arrangements can result in substantial savings to augment the insurance benefit paid by Ameritas Group so people are able to afford the treatment they need.”
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