Because of the budget fiasco and September 11, very little has been happening in the New York State legislature. We have been in contact with Senator Jim Alesi and Assemblyman Joe Morelle, who are sponsoring the Hearing Aid Insurance bills (S.5692 and A.8896) in both houses. We are trying to get them to change the bills so that we can get replacements every three years instead of four years. They have promised to review this, so let’s keep our fingers crossed.

In a new development, a bill has been introduced on the federal level that would provide some coverage and some hearing rehabilitation (such as speech reading) under Medicare. Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL), who serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, recently introduced H.R.2934, the Medicare Aural Rehabilitation and Hearing Aid Coverage Act of 2001, that would provide Medicare coverage of hearing aids and rehabilitation services for seniors with hearing loss. The bill would provide hearing aids every three years as needed by Medicare beneficiaries. I recently sent an e-mail to Senators Clinton and Schumer asking them to sponsor this legislation; they responded with form letters thanking me for writing to them. We have informed SHHH National that we are getting nowhere on this in NYS and they should ask other states to work on it.

The TAANY bills (Telephone Access for All New Yorkers) (A.3225 and S.4725) remain unchanged. They are two different bills; there must be some compromise before these bills can pass.

The Interagency Council bill (A.7536) passed in the Assembly on May 16, 2001. The Senate version (S.4153) is still stuck in the Education Committee.

As we learn more about these bills and others in the coming months, we will keep you posted.