1º"This afternoon, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. Almost immediately, it will produce results. A 30% tax credit for energy-efficient windows, heat pumps, or newer models of appliances will lower people’s energy costs; the cost of drugs will be capped at $2,000 per year for people on Medicare; and health care premiums will fall for certain Americans. In the longer term, it will be easier for the country to switch to renewable energy, and wealthy Americans and corporations will bear more of the tax burden than they have paid since the 2017 Trump tax cuts.
“The Inflation Reduction Act is now law,” Biden tweeted, “Giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices. Ensuring wealthy corporations pay their fair share in taxes. And taking the biggest step forward on climate in our history.”
“This is a BFD,” former President Barack Obama tweeted.
“Thanks, Obama,” Biden responded.
They can be forgiven their irreverence because this act is indeed a big deal. It is an astonishing cap to the legislation the Democrats have passed with their squeaky thin majority in Congress. They have passed the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and now this, the Inflation Reduction Act.
Since President Ronald Reagan told Americans, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem,” Republicans have focused on proving that private enterprise is more efficient than government at providing the things Americans need. That argument has depended on preventing the government from legislating or addressing the things that people care about.
In his year and a half in office, Biden has demonstrated the opposite: that government can work. The measures that Democrats, and those Republicans who are willing to work across the aisle, have passed are enormously popular: lower medical costs, including a provision finalized today for over-the-counter hearing aids; bridge repair; broadband access; and investment in science.
“I feel like the media is having a hard time metabolizing the fact that this congress has been historically productive,” Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) mused. “And acknowledging the size of these accomplishments, and the degree of difficulty,—it’s just hard to do accurately without sounding a bit left leaning.”
Democrats are demonstrating that the government is working, but for their ideology to make sense, the current-day Republican Party needs chaos. Chaos is what it is currently delivering." - Heather Cox Richardson
2ºHeather Cassidy I have seen this happen many times. They buy those cheap ones and hate them most of the time and don't get help. Eventually, they visit an audiologist, get a proper prescription, know that there is time to get accustomed to the script, let their auditory system relearn how to hear, and spend the money they can afford, etc. People don't realize that hearing loss is damage and that the aids r trying to make what's left work as efficiently as possible. Ask ur opthalmologist to measure your retina and prescribe by damage the different frequencies needed for you to see better. Not happening! People have a very simplified view of what they do......
3ºWilliam M Cash yeah so insurance no longer has to cover it, making it actually more expensive for those that need them and previously had them medically covered. It will probably also drive up the out of pocket cost share for prescription ones. All this did was make it easier to get, and realistically you should be seeing an audiologist to have the right type for you and set appropriately based on the persons medical needs, not what the person guessed they needed on their own. I have to have two different types of speaker, and each of mine is set differently based on my medical need. Hearing loss isn’t like getting reading glasses at rite aid. This is just a way for insurances to increase profit and the fda to look like they are trying to make a difference.
4ºMarjean Rowe, actually, for people with mild to moderate loss, they can be set by the end-user similarly to what we get prescribed and set by the audiologist. It gets things adjusted at the different frequencies at a pretty amazing level of detail. They're just not powerful enough for people like me. To their credit, I've contacted a couple of firms and sent them my most recent audiogram. They each got back to me indicating regretfully that their product wouldn't meet my needs. This is a great thing for people who are struggling with just mild hearing loss. It helps them to stay in better communication with their loved ones without a lot of cost. I just wish that they hadn't left people like us out in the cold.
5ºMatt Marsteller I know they're not covered by insurance, which is a shame. I'm hard of hearing. I'm retired. But tell me this...why are hearing aids so expensive? $4,000 for a set? That should be considered robbery! I know that number is on the low side too. How do these places get away with it? I remember many years ago when contact lenses cost several hundred dollars. I guess people found out how much they really cost to make and raised quite a fuss. Next thing you know, the prices had dropped drastically. Maybe that's what everyone needs to do now.
6ºSharon Hartman Bailey no but there are resources out there for people who cannot afford it. I hate that this has to happen, I can see damages that this will cause to those who purchase otc. Hearing aids need to be programmed to fit individuals hearing loss. I do wish insurance would cover some of the cost or at least cover some of it with specification such as purchasing a new one every 5 or 6 years unless the audiologist notes significant change in hearing loss during those years. No judgement here, I am deaf myself and I completely understand the frustration of costs of hearing aids and I do encourage everyone to research their local resources
7ºthe reason I wear hearing aids and buy them from professionals, is so they can fine tune, adjust them for range of sound - high and low pitches, program them for varied settings such as restaurants, movie theatres, work meetings, tv sounds. My aids are complex little machines that need all the above help and much more to make them perfect for me. For my particular loss. Yes - they were not cheap. But the quality of my life has improved drastically since I got them. I am unclear from this article how individuals will be able to make the adjustments in fit and sound without the help of an audiologist who will figure out what type of loss you have with a hearing test, whether you would benefit from aids, and then connect the individual with an audioprosthetists. Happy to hear about the reduction in price. Unclear how this will play out.
8ºPat Whittier those are called an amplifier. They provide a flat amount of amplification. The reason they don’t help much is because almost all hearing loss varies by pitch (typically, age related hearing loss causes more high pitch hearing loss and less low pitch hearing loss). So when using flat amplifiers, you may tend to turn up the volume on them to try to help your high pitch hearing, but in doing so get too much low pitch boost. So they sound boomy, or tinny, etc.
On the other hand, actual hearing aids are digitally programmed to your hearing at each pitch, for each ear. This provides amplification that is “shaped” to balance out the shape of the hearing loss, and sounds much much better. But a lot more engineering goes into that technology. Which is part of why hearing aids cost more.
For years audiologists like me have been trying to lobby for better insurance coverage for hearing aids, but it’s a losing battle.
9ºMarjean Rowe I agree the patient should have an exam by an audiologist and the hearing aid should be fitted to the person. So, charge a separate medical fee for that, just like when you go to the eye doctor. Then price the hearing aid independently, just like prescription glasses are. The actual hearing aids should not cost what they currently do—thousands and thousands of dollars. If Medicare covered hearing aids, you can bet they would not cost as much as they do now. Nothing but a cash cow. Just like charging exorbitant prices for some prescription medicines. It’s a monopoly that charges whatever they want because people need them. Shameful.
10ºThis isn’t a hearing aid issue, it is a bizarre insurance issue. You buy health insurance, and then they use an excuse not to cover dental, vision, hearing etc. Despite the obvious reality that the major senses are an essential part of health care.
As to this law, all it does is allow companies to sell you a product without the benefits of a licensed and experienced hearing health professional guiding the process. The odds of a typical patient being able to self diagnose, and self treat with no risk or downside is slim. And will probably simply delay proper treatment, wasting time and money.