HEARING AID INSURANCE: New legislation ‘great benefit’ to all Minnesotans

FROM PAGE 1 attempting to get enough funding for the cause.

“Out of nowhere,” the lobbyists notified Younk and her team that there were two bills coming out this year that were eliminating the age restriction, and Younk was told immediately to take action by writing a letter of support and speaking at the Capitol.

“‘Tomorrow, I’m in clinic,’” Younk remembers saying, caught off guard by the news.

Younk would come to find out that both the Department of Health and the Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing had already begun to put the bill together and had forgotten to give them a phone call. All three of the different groups would come to find that they were working individually and were not aware of the potential solution that sat in front of them.

It turned out that there was no need for a fiscal review in order for the bill to be passed, but it was simply a matter of the Department of Health looking at the federal regulations and realizing that this was discrimination. All that was required was a change in

Rookery Activity Center Aquatics Supervisor a mandate that they already had.

Madeline Rosewood is the recent recipient of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Service Member Patriot Award. Rosewood was nominated for the award by Rookery employee Jordyn Munkholm. The Patriot Award reflects the efforts made to support citizen warriors through a wide range of measures including flexible schedules, time off prior to and after deployment, caring for families and granting leaves of absence if needed. Rosewood is currently deployed with the National Guard.

“I wish somebody would have told us that 10 years ago,” said Younk. “Audiologists aren’t lawyers, and we’re a small profession, so we don’t have the money to hire lawyers to look at the legal language and help push bills through.”

What then would ensue was a “mad dash” with all three different groups working together to get the bill to the point where Gov. Walz could sign off and put it into law.

“It just so happened that the stars aligned, and it went through so fast that we could all not believe it,” Younk said. “We could just not believe it after how long it took us to get there.”

Younk views this new legislation as a great benefit for a number of different Minnesota residents, from college students to older parents with worsening hearing loss who don’t always have the extra money needed to cover their own hearing costs, factoring in health expenses for children, house payments, student loan debt, car loans and all of the numerous expenses of adult life.

“For individuals where finances are tight, now to have an insurance benefit coverage to at least take part of it is tremendous,” Younk said.

This work comes as a relief to Younk. During her career as a hearing specialist, Younk has believed that health insurance companies have not viewed hearing loss as an important issue. She thinks that hearing loss has long been viewed as something that simply happens with aging and a cost that people are expected to pay out of pocket.

“It has been a barrier for many individuals with hearing loss,” Younk said. “Individuals that have a hearing aid benefit are much more likely to feel comfortable pursuing hearing care, and it’s an easier conversation with them. They feel like they don’t have to do it all on their own.”

Sebastian Studier is an intern at Press Publications. He can be reached by calling 651-407-1200 or emailing intern1@presspubs.com.

CONTRIBUTED

Madeline Rosewood is the recent recipient of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Service Member Patriot Award.