Email from Sara Kennedy
Colorado Families for Hands & Voices
Assistant Director, Pikes Peak Regional Parent Guide
Senate Bill 57: April 21st 1:30 pm Hearing: The bill would require Colorado insurance (any companies operating in CO) to cover hearing aids for children as long as they stay on their parents' insurance. SB57 passed through the Senate Appropriations committee unanimously. SB 57 has been assigned ON THE HOUSE SIDE to the (Business Affairs, as it was also in the Senate), and is scheduled for Monday afternoon (April 21). The hearing will begin at 1:30, and will be in one of the large House hearing rooms, located in the basement of the Capitol.
We need a couple of things from you all! Please reply and let us know if you can come on Monday with your kids to sit in the audience for 'silent' support (last time we had almost 20 kids!) It makes a huge statement just to have families in the room sitting there... We probably won't need you to testify. Our lobbyist will let us know who she wants, and how many, so please don't sign up to testify at the committee on Monday, when we arrive in the room, unless we specifically ask you (we don't want to do 'overkill' if Charlie knows we have the votes etc.). You can let me know if you are willing/able to testify. Please don't take it personally if you don't get asked...
ALSO, please contact these members via email, phone etc. TODAY and TOMORROW about the bill and ask for their support!
THANKS, please let Janet or Mary know (I have their emails - Sara) reply if you can come on MONDAY!!! We need to keep the pressure on, PLEASE make it if you can...
On Monday, House Business Affairs and Labor will hear SB 57. Members of that committee are:
Rosemary Marshall, Chair and our sponsor 303-866-2959
Joe Rice, Vice Chair – D from Arapahoe county and little of Jefferson county – District 38 303-866-2953
David Balmer – R from Arapahoe county, District 39 303-866-2935
Dorothy Butcher – D from Pueblo, District 46 303- 866-2968
Morgan Carroll – D from Aurora, District 36
303-866-2942
Ed Casso – D from Thornton, District 32 303-866-2964
Cherie Jahn – D from Jefferson county, District 24 303-866-5522
Larry Liston – R from El Paso county, District 16 303-866-2965
Victor Mitchell – R from Douglas county, District 45 303-866-2948
John Soper – D from Thornton, District 34 303-866-9231
Amy Stephens – R from Monument, District 20 303-8662924
Messages to these individuals, especially from families with stories to tell, are most appropriate!
If you click on "take action" at the top of this alert from The Children's Hospital, it will send you to a page to identify your senator and help you send a letter. I altered the "sample" with my own family's information and sent this off.
Please write your legislator now!
You
can
help
kids
today!
TCH Legislative Action Alert for Senate Bill 57: Hearing Aids for Children
Take Action!
Please Contact Your Senator Today!
Approximately 180 babies are born each year in Colorado in need of hearing aids. Unlike public programs like Medicaid and CHP+, most private insurance plans do not cover hearing aids for children, citing them as cosmetic, or not medically necessary. The average cost of hearing aids is around $1500-3000 per aid, and 80% of children with hearing loss need them in both ears. Unfortunately, the expensive nature of hearing aids prompts some families to wait to get them for their children or avoid replacing them as frequently as necessary, which can have extremely detrimental effects on a child's development.
Senate Bill 57, sponsored by Senator Ken Kester, is expected to be heard on the Senate floor very soon. If passed, this legislation will require private insurance plans to cover hearing aids for children under the age of 18 years, with some exceptions. Due to the relatively small number of children needing hearing aids in our state, the fiscal impact to insurance plans is expected to be minimal. Providing hearing aids to children as early as possible in their lives is critical to their overall development of speech and language. The ability to hear is directly tied to the ability to speak. Making an investment in a child's hearing early on pays off not only in that child's developmental potential and quality of life; it also pays off from an economic standpoint. Children who go without effective treatment for hearing loss are much more likely to need special education and public support throughout their lives.
Please help keep these kids on track developmentally and give them the opportunity to reach their full potential. Click on the "Take Action" link above to encourage your Senators to Vote YES for Senate Bill 57!
Deadline: Monday, April 14 at 9am
Questions? Deb Federspiel at 720.777.6770 or advocacy@tchden.org
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