State turns deaf ear to hearing needs of children

This situation keeps getting worse. No civil rights battle was won overnight, but these kids can’t wait.

Huge health insurance rate increases proposed for next year are another bitter pill to swallow for those Washington state children with disabilities unserved by the Affordable Care Act.

Hearing coverage was left out of the ACA. It is left to states to determine whether children deserve such coverage, and Washington is not among the 20 states that have passed such laws. A bipartisan state Senate bill to provide such protection was killed this year after lobbying from Washington’s dominant insurer. That insurer, coincidentally the third-largest contributor to legislative candidates, now seeks a 20 percent rate increase in the individual market — losses are mounting as healthy, younger adults fail to buy into the ACA boondoggle.

Imagine you are a child with trouble hearing. Research shows that, if your hearing disability goes untreated, you will have delays in speech and language skills; be especially challenged by complicated vocabulary; lag in academic achievement; and, quite possibly, experience growing social isolation among your peers. Academic intervention, short of treating the medical need, only adds to K-12 special education costs. Yet, in a state that doesn’t even require coverage of pediatric hearing exams, the cost of actually treating hearing impairment — namely hearing aids — may prove too prohibitive for parents.

Consider, after all, all the other costs those parents are bearing.

Even with the ACA’s much-ballyhooed “limits” on out-of-pocket expenses, parents next year could pay as much as $14,300 in up-front deductibles — on top of their premiums — to even utilize their family’s health coverage. This makes “coverage” illusory in a country where the most recent Federal Reserve Board survey shows that roughly half of citizens wouldn’t even have the cash on hand to pay an unexpected expense of as little as $400.

If your kid’s only substantive health care need is coverage for a hearing disability, thousands of dollars in deductibles get in the way of shelling out even more money to actually take care of your child. And with premiums starting to spiral out of control again your plight will get even more dire — especially if you do not have premium subsidies.

Policymakers should be embarrassed. A progressive state rhetorically boasting of “Apple Health” for kids on Medicaid treats children with disabilities like rotten apples. Only a unanimous state Supreme Court decision, for example, forced insurers to start covering autism treatment. Only newspaper headlines compelled the begrudging inclusion of Children’s Hospital in health insurance networks.

These facts are not inconsistent with federal developments. For example, the Obama Administration’s point person for ACA implementation, Marilyn Tavenner, left her post to lobby for the health insurance industry. Prior to her departure, there was not a single substantive regulatory decision regarding ACA implementation where consumer interests prevailed.

Yet surely, at least in this one instance, Washington can be as progressive as states like Arkansas, and require insurers, and the state’s own Medicaid program, to treat children with hearing disabilities like human beings whose lives have value. That could be accomplished by requiring insurers to cover hearing exams, and any necessary hardware, even if we all must pay slightly more.

Attorney Brendan Williams is a former state representative and a disabilities’ advocate. He lives in Olympia.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Thursday, March 28

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Initiative promoter Tim Eyman takes a selfie photo before the start of a session of Thurston County Superior Court, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Olympia, Wash. Eyman, who ran initiative campaigns across Washington for decades, will no longer be allowed to have any financial control over political committees, under a ruling from Superior Court Judge James Dixon Wednesday that blasted Eyman for using donor's contributions to line his own pocket. Eyman was also told to pay more than $2.5 million in penalties. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Editorial: Initiative fee increase protects process, taxpayers

Bumped up to $156 from $5, the increase may discourage attempts to game the initiative process.

Protecting forests and prevent another landslide like Oso

Thank you for the powerful and heartbreaking article about the Oso landslide… Continue reading

Boeing’s downfall started when engineers demoted

Boeing used to be run by engineers who made money to build… Continue reading

Learn swimming safety to protect kids at beach, pool

Don’t forget to dive into water safety before hitting the pool or… Continue reading

Comment: Why shootings have decreased but gun deaths haven’t

High-capacity magazines and ‘Glock switches’ that allow automatic fire have increased lethality.

Washington state senators and representatives along with Governor Inslee and FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez break ground at the Swift Orange Line on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Community Transit making most of Link’s arrival

The Lynnwood light rail station will allow the transit agency to improve routes and frequency of buses.

An image of Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin is reflected in a storefront window during the State of the City Address on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at thee Everett Mall in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Editorial: State of city address makes case for Everett’s future

Mayor Franklin outlines challenges and responses as the city approaches significant decisions.

FILE - The massive mudslide that killed 43 people in the community of Oso, Wash., is viewed from the air on March 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Editorial: Mapping landslide risks honors those lost in Oso

Efforts continue in the state to map areas prone to landslides and prevent losses of life and property.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, March 27

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Burke: ‘Why not write about Biden, for once?’ Don’t mind if I do.

They asked; I’ll oblige. Let’s consider what the president has accomplished since the 2020 election.

Comment: Catherine missed chance to dispel shame of cancer

She wasn’t obligated to do so, but she might have used her diagnosis to educate a sympathetic public.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.