H.R. 6218 — HEAR Act of 2025

This section establishes Medicare Part B coverage for hearing rehabilitation—defined to include aural rehabilitation services (i.e., comprehensive audiologic assessments, threshold tests, and related services furnished by a physician or qualified audiologist) and hearing aids (i.e., FDA-approved wearable devices excluding over-the-counter hearing aids, along with associated audiology services, assessments, fittings, instructions, adjustments, and counseling)—for beneficiaries with hearing loss who have not received a hearing aid (monaural or binaural) in the prior three years or whose hearing has deteriorated such that a different type is appropriate. (As background, Medicare previously excluded coverage of hearing aids and examinations therefor.) The section further (1) classifies such hearing aids as durable medical equipment; (2) expands the definition of audiology services to expressly include rehabilitation; and (3) creates an exception to coverage exclusions for hearing rehabilitation furnished more frequently than the three-year limit. The amendments apply to items and services furnished on or after a date specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, not earlier than January 1 of the first calendar year after enactment and not later than January 1 of the third calendar year after enactment.