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While it is commendable that Mrs. Mackey took on her insurance company and won (page 5 of the Sept. 5 issue of The ASHA Leader), it is a travesty that she had to do so, considering that the Maryland legislature passed a law mandating insurance coverage for children's hearing aids nearly six years ago.
In my experience, all but a very few plans deny coverage for children's hearing aid expenses in Maryland. The law was apparently written with so many opportunities for exceptions that even families who are covered by some public school systems are denied. I have heard so many excuses from policies not written in this state-hearing aids are "cosmetic," the plan is "self-insured," or that coverage is to be "up to $1,400, so we'll give you $100"-that I wonder why we spent all that time and effort on the bill in the first place.
Rather than showcasing this one mother's efforts to win her case, we should be actively working to hold our legislators accountable for the promises made to us that our youngest patients would have coverage for their hearing aids.
Catherine D. Alles
Westminster, MD
allesbc@adelphia.net
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