Medline announced a new partnership with MDHearing, a direct-to-consumer hearing aid manufacturer, to make it easier for people to purchase affordable hearing aids without a prescription. The collaboration marks Medline’s first entrance into the hearing aid market as a distributor.
Over half of people aged 70 and over in the United States suffer from mild or moderate hearing loss. Left untreated, it can greatly increase the risk of dementia. Historically, neither Medicare nor most insurance policies have covered the cost of hearing aids, but a final ruling from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now allows consumers to purchase hearing aids online or in stores at lower costs and without a prescription.
Also Read: Aeroflow Healthcare Names Mica Phillips New Vice President of Aeroflow Urology
Through this partnership, Medline is working with insurance providers to add the hearing aids as part of their OTC supplemental benefit offering for 2023. There is a greater opportunity to improve member outcomes and retention through creating benefit dollars for OTC hearing aids as Medicare Advantage and other health plans evaluate their program offering. The average cost for a pair of hearing aids bought at a clinic is $4,600, but MDHearing’s aids range from $300–$700. The company, founded by a Chicago ENT in 2008, has sold over one million hearing aids.
“Prior to the final ruling from the FDA, health plan members have been on the hook for paying out of pocket for prescribed hearing aids. In partnering with Medline, we’re making it convenient and easy for health plan members to use their benefits dollars to purchase high quality hearing aids, saving them thousands of dollars, while still getting support from licensed hearing professionals,” said Doug Breaker, CEO of MDHearing.
MDHearing’s lineup includes the following hearing aids:
- Neo, an entry-level in the canal rechargeable aid that is one size fits most and is pre-programmed to fit age-related hearing loss,
- Volt, a behind the ear rechargeable aid that features dual microphones and 4 pre-set programs,
- Volt Max, a digital, behind the ear with adaptive directional microphones. Users can program noise reduction, microphone direction and other settings from a mobile application. The Volt Max offers remote adjustment from licensed hearing professionals
SOURCE: PR Newswire