Democrats Plan to Expand Medicare Hearing Benefits. What Can Consumers Expect?

(By Rachana Pradhan for Kaiser Health News)

President Joe Biden’s mammoth domestic spending bill would add hearing benefits to the traditional Medicare program — one of three major new benefits Democrats had sought.

The Biden administration appears to have fallen short of its ambition to expand dental and vision along with hearing benefits. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other progressives have long pushed for more generous benefits for seniors. Citing the cost, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) opposed such expansion.

Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress pared back the scope of the new benefits after the total budget bill — which funds health care and other domestic initiatives — was whittled from a proposed $3.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion to meet demands of the party’s moderates. The new hearing benefits would become available in 2023.  Continue reading here…

Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit national health policy news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

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