Hearing Aid Coverage for Arizona Medicaid: A Model Proposal and Stakeholder Mobilization

To date, there are limited resources in Arizona to support low-income adults, aged 22-64, with hearing loss. This is in part because Arizona does not have hearing health coverage through Medicaid. Medicaid is a state and federally funded low-income healthcare coverage plan. To change this, seven students of the doctor-of-audiology program at the University of Arizona, along with nine faculty members, worked on a multi-semester project to study potential paths for the hearing-impaired low-income adult population in Arizona to gain access to hearing healthcare. One subgroup of three students (A. White, B. Crump, and D. Robillard) proposed a model for coverage of hearing services and hearing devices for adults under Medicaid for Arizona called Arizona Healthcare Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). Our model was based on information gathered through a state-by-state comparison covering five categories: diagnosis, follow-up with counseling, hearing aids, replacements/repairs, and aural rehabilitation. The group also proposed an initiative to mobilize stakeholders including primary care physicians, ophthalmologists, and social workers to aid in support for a potential future bill in legislation. The information created from this research project can be used to bring such a bill through legislation to grant AHCCCS hearing-aid coverage for working adults with hearing loss.

Name thesis:degree_name

Au.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Graduate College

Grantor dc:publisher

The University of Arizona.

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• White, Abbie

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Dai, Huanping

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Marrone, Nicole L.
• Velenovsky, David S.
• Wheeler, Amy

• access
• audiology
• Hearing
• Medicaid

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10150/677599

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/677599