LEXINGTON, KY–Hours after Hearing News Watch posted its article on growing opposition to United Healthcare’s business model, Stephanie Czuhajewski, executive director of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology, e-mailed a letter to its members. Excerpts follow:
ADA Members,
We wanted to provide you with an update regarding ADA’s plan of action to address member concerns regarding the October 3rd United Healthcare (UHC) announcement to provide online hearing tests and the direct-to-consumer Internet sale of hearing aids for their subscribers. We share your concerns regarding these “benefits,” hearing “devices,” and hearing “testing” available to UHC plan members and the general public.
Yesterday, in collaboration, ADA and AAA sent joint letters to United Healthcare and hi Health Innovations regarding this issue.
ADA is seeking additional documentation regarding actual UHC plan language regarding the proposed benefits for 2012. If you have received any additional specific information from UHC, or from your patients, please forward it to me at [email protected].
We are also seeking any information that you can provide about formal mobilization efforts in your state to address this issue, so that we can compile this information and push it back out for all members to share.
Thanks to those who have already responded. We will keep you updated on ADA’s investigation and action on this issue.
