Provides relative to insurance coverage for hearing aids (EG1 INCREASE GF EX See Note)

House Bill 774 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes 22:1038(C)(1) to expand the mandatory hearing aid coverage requirement under health insurance policies. The bill modifies the age threshold for covered individuals from children under eighteen years old to individuals twenty-six years old and under. The amendment maintains all other requirements for coverage, including that hearing aids must be fitted and dispensed by a licensed audiologist or licensed hearing aid specialist and that the individual must receive medical clearance from a physician licensed to practice medicine along with an audiological evaluation that is medically appropriate to the individual's age.

The practical effect of this legislation extends hearing aid coverage to young adults between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six who are insured under health insurance policies, contracts, programs, or plans subject to Louisiana law. Individuals in this expanded age group who require hearing aids and meet the medical and audiological evaluation requirements will now have coverage for those devices through their health insurance, reducing out-of-pocket costs for hearing correction. Health insurance entities, including insurers and health maintenance organizations operating in Louisiana and subject to the requirements of R.S. 22:1038, will be required to provide this expanded coverage to qualifying individuals within the newly extended age range.

House Bill 774 operates within the existing regulatory framework established in Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 22, which governs insurance practices and requirements in the state. The amendment to R.S. 22:1038(C)(1) is expressly made notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 22:1047, indicating that the hearing aid coverage mandate supersedes any conflicting provisions within that statute. This legislation aligns with a broader statutory context of mandated health insurance benefits in Louisiana and affects the scope of coverage requirements that insurers must provide to policyholders under state law.