ACI Alliance’s Role in Cochlear Implant Advocacy
ACI Alliance’s role in advocacy is to educate and encourage policy-makers and payers to take steps that expand access to cochlear implants.
- State Champions monitor and initiate proactive measures to address cochlear implant insurance coverage at the state and Federal levels.
- Participate in hearing loss and general disability organizations.
- Address the current shortcomings of Early Intervention advisement services to families as they relate to comprehensive, unbiased information on options and technology to parents.
- Lead member advocacy efforts in Washington to expand knowledge about cochlear implants and issues of access.
- In collaboration with other organizations, develop and disseminate multi-disciplinary clinical practice guidelines and undertake efforts that promote cochlear implantation as the standard of care treatment within non-hearing loss disciplines.
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Current Initiatives
ACI Alliance’s Supported Bill – Ally’s Act – Reintroduced in Congress
4/15/2023
ACI Alliance is pleased to share that Ally’s Act has been reintroduced in Congress. Ally’s Act would require group insurance companies to provide coverage for cochlear implants and osseointergrated devices.
Read more here:
118th one page
118th Update
Ally's Act Endorsement
Endorsement Letter
2022 Fiscal Year Omnibus Bill Includes Support for ACI Alliance Key Issues
3/24/2022
The recently passed FY2022 Omnibus Bill included key provisions that align with ACI Alliance policy issues. CDC is encouraged to continue its activities to prevent Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, and directs CDC to provide an update on efforts to develop, implement, and evaluate CMV prevention strategies in the fiscal year 2023 Congressional Justification. CMV is responsible for hearing loss in 1 in 5 children who have no other known risk factor or cause. Hearing loss related to CMV may not be present at birth, but rather delayed in onset and hence would be missed by newborn hearing screening and may fluctuate or progress during childhood.
The Omnibus bill also directs NIH to include updates on hearing health screening for older adults in fiscal year 2023 Congressional Justification. Incorporating hearing health screening for older adults has been an issue ACI Alliance has worked on for a number of years with other hearing health organizations and by educating family and general practitioners on the importance of screening.
Congressman Joe Neguse Reintroduces “Ally’s Act” His Bipartisan Bill Inspired By 11-Year-Old Broomfield Constituent, to Increase Access to Specialized Hearing Devices
1/27/2021
Congressman Joe Neguse, announced the reintroduction of “Ally’s Act,” his bicameral, bipartisan legislation to require private insurance companies to cover osseointegrated hearing devices (“OIDs”), including bone anchored hearing aids (“BAHA”) and cochlear implants. The bill was inspired by Ally, an 11-year-old from Broomfield, Colorado, who was born without a right ear or hearing canal and therefore requires the use of a BAHA. After Ally’s insurance company denied coverage of her hearing device, her mother Melissa formed the organization Ear Community to help advocate for insurance coverage of these devices to ensure no person is left unable to hear because of private insurance companies’ refusal to provide coverage. Read more here.
https://ujoin.co/campaigns/1128/actions/public
Consideration of Face Shields as a Return to School Option
6/12/2020
As children with hearing loss return to school, we all wonder how they will manage with teachers and classmates wearing masks in the classroom. ACI Alliance has published a paper exploring shields as a return to school option.
Read the full paper here.
Click here to read more on Children & Educational Needs.
Open Caption Act of 2018 before the District of Columbia’s City Council of the Whole
12/12/2018
The ACI Alliance has submitted comments in support of the Open Caption Act of 2018 before the District of Columbia’s City Council of the Whole. If enacted, the bill would require movie theaters to provide open captioning for movies during peak times up to four times a week. To read our comments, please click here.
10/30/2018
As part of our ongoing advocacy and education efforts on Medicaid, the ACI Alliance visited with staff at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as well as with the Majority and Minority staff for the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Senate Finance Committee. We shared information on cochlear implants and the life-changing benefits that they provide for children and adults. In addition, we discussed ongoing access issues Medicaid patients and providers face including reimbursement, replacement policies for sound processors and other equipment, caps on rehabilitative therapies, and MCOs. We encourage our members to contact Nichole Westin (nwestin@acialliance.org) or Donna Sorkin (dsorkin@acialliance.org) to add to our collective knowledge on how Medicaid is serving children and adults who have or need cochlear implants.
