Government Sources of Funding - Medicare / Medicaid

Medicaid Coverage

Effective 1994,a directive from the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) requires all States to cover cochlear implants for all children under age 21as well as any services and aural rehabilitation necessary to effectively use the CI.  This directive was based on a law called EPSDT passed in 1989.

Medicare Coverage

Medicare provides basic health insurance coverage for millions Americans and is not purely a program for the elderly as is commonly thought. Approximately 13 percent of Medicare beneficiaries qualify because of a disability.

Eligibility under Medicare is automatic for any United States citizen over the age of 65, or if they meet the Social Security Administration definition of disability and have been receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for at least two years (see http://www.ssa.gov.)

Naturally, like most everything in government, Medicare regulations are extremely complex. For Medicare purposes, cochlear implants are considered "prosthetic devices" and are eligible for coverage.

You can read more on the Department of Health and Human Services web site here.

Listen-Up has a great overview of Medicare coverage of cochlear implants.