Hearing Aid Benefits in the FEHB Program

All plans cover medical problems, such as infections, that affect any part of your body, including your ears. All plans cover routine hearing testing for children. Almost all will pay most of the cost for hearing-related medical procedures, such as cochlear implants. But only in recent years have plans begun to cover the cost of hearing aids to compensate for deafness. Coverages vary widely, with some plans covering only children with differing qualifications based on age, frequency of replacement varying, and big differences in the cost amount the plan will cover. We compare these coverages in the Guide. Before selecting a plan on this basis, it is worth checking with providers for special discounts, some tailored to specific plans. Publications read by Federal employees or retirees, such as the magazine of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE), often carry ads that promise high quality hearing aids at no cost to enrollees in specific plans.