South Carolina H 3342: Hearing aids

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3342 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3342

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH 
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 38-71-48 SO AS TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS, 
TO REQUIRE ALL HEALTH INSURANCE AND GROUP HEALTH BENEFIT PLANS TO COVER HEARING 
AIDS AND REPLACEMENT HEARING AIDS FOR INSUREDS WITH IMPAIRED HEARING, AND TO 
PROVIDE FOR THE SCOPE OF COVERAGE, AMONG OTHER THINGS.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Article 1, Chapter 71, Title 38 of the S.C. Code is 
amended by adding:

 Section 
38-71-48. (A) "Hearing aid" means 
any nonexperimental and wearable instrument or device designed for the ear and 
offered to aid or compensate for impaired human hearing, including any parts, 
ear molds, repair parts, and replacement parts of this instrument or device. "Hearing 
aid" excludes batteries, cords, personal sound amplification products, and 
other assistive listening devices.

 (2) 
"Audiologist" means an individual licensed to practice audiology in this State 
pursuant to Chapter 67, Title 40.

 (3) 
"Insurer" means an insurance company, a health maintenance organization, and 
any other entity that provides health insurance coverage as defined in Section 
38-71-670(6), is licensed to engage in the business of insurance in this State, 
and is subject to state insurance regulation.

 (4) 
"Health maintenance organization" means an organization as defined in Section 
38-33-20(8).

 (5) 
"Health insurance plan" means a group health insurance policy or group health 
benefit plan offered by an insurer, including the State Health Plan.

 (6) 
"State Health Plan" means the employee and retiree insurance program provided 
in Article 5, Chapter 11, Title 1.

 (7) 
"Department" means the Department of Insurance.

 (B) All 
health insurance plans offered by individual and group health and health 
management organizations, including the State Health Plan, must provide 
coverage for the billed charges of one hearing aid per hearing impaired ear for 
an individual covered under a policy, contract, or certificate in accordance 
with the following:

 (1) 
The department shall set and promulgate minimum coverage rates and coverage 
limits for adult and child hearing aids for each hearing-impaired ear.

 (2) 
At a minimum, the department must provide rates that would provide coverage for 
the billed charges of reasonable and customary hearing aids.

 (3) 
Every two years the department must compile and promulgate an approved list of 
audiologists and hearing aid dealers licensed in this State who will provide 
hearing aids as mandated in this section.

 (4) 
To be eligible for coverage under a health insurance plan, hearing loss in each 
impaired ear must be documented by a physician or audiologist licensed in this 
State.

 (C) A 
health insurance plan may not deny or refuse coverage on, refuse to contract 
with, or refuse to renew or refuse to reissue or otherwise terminate or 
restrict coverage on a covered individual solely because he is or has been 
previously diagnosed with hearing loss.

 (D) A 
covered insured may select a hearing aid or aids costing more than the amount 
promulgated by the department in subsection (B), so long as the covered insured 
pays the difference between the price of the selected hearing aids or aid and 
the limit in subsection (B), without any financial or contractual penalty to 
the covered insured or to the provider of the hearing aid.

 (E) The 
requirements of this section apply to all policies, contracts, and certificates 
executed, delivered, issued, continued, or renewed in this State on or after 
the effective date of this section.

SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, 
and applies to health insurance plans issued, renewed, delivered, or entered 
into on or after the effective date of this act.

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This web page was last updated on December 06, 2024 at 11:36 AM