HB 2187 would require health care services organizations in Arizona to provide full coverage for hearing aids and related services for children enrolled under age 18, and for students under age 21 who are still attending high school. The mandate applies when a plan issues, amends, delivers, or renews an evidence of coverage, and it expressly includes fitting and dispensing services, ear molds needed to maintain fit, and related services provided by licensed health care providers. The bill also defines hearing aids broadly to include cochlear implants, bone-conductive hearing devices, and other devices intended to amplify or create hearing.
The bill allows insurers to offer optional additional hearing-aid coverage beyond the required benefits, and it permits deductibles and coinsurance so long as they are consistent with those applied to other benefits under the same plan. It excludes short-term travel, accident-only, and limited-benefit coverage from the mandate. The new coverage requirement would apply only to evidences of coverage with effective dates on or after December 31, 2026.
Impact
HB 2187 would add a new section to Title 20 governing health care services organizations, creating a statewide insurance coverage mandate for pediatric hearing aids and related services. It would affect insurers and health plans regulated under Arizona’s health care services organization statutes by requiring them to cover specified hearing-related devices and services for eligible minors and certain high-school-age enrollees, while leaving some limited coverage products outside the mandate. The bill would also clarify that cost-sharing may still apply if it is consistent with other covered benefits.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, the overall sentiment appears supportive and straightforward, with the measure framed as a child-focused health coverage expansion. The bill’s structure suggests an intent to improve access to hearing care rather than to restrict existing coverage. No formal opposition, amendments, or recorded vote history is included in the provided context.
Contention
The main potential points of contention are likely to be the cost of the mandated benefit for insurers and policyholders, the breadth of the definition of hearing aids, and whether the mandate should extend through age 20 for students still in high school. Another possible issue is the bill’s treatment of deductibles and coinsurance, since it preserves cost-sharing while requiring full coverage of the benefit itself. However, no specific objections or competing viewpoints are documented in the provided committee materials.