Payer Announces Virtual Care Option for Hearing Care Access

Bottom of FormUnitedHealthcare Hearing has announced a virtual care option that will expand hearing care access for employer-sponsored and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries across the country.

The new virtual care capability, Right2You, builds on UnitedHealthcare Hearing’s home-based healthcare model designed to reduce the need for in-person hearing aid support visits.

“The new virtual care option from UnitedHealthcare Hearing represents an important option in how hearing healthcare is delivered, enabling people across the country to more easily and conveniently obtain treatment for hearing loss while minimizing the need for in-person appointments,” Diane Nens, audiologist and senior clinical director at UnitedHealthcare Hearing, said in a press release.

“Hearing health is connected to overall well-being, so improving access to hearing health treatment and hearing aids can support our members and lower their risk of depression and dementia, as well as reduce the frequency of falls,” said Nens.

Since the onset of COVID-19, hearing aid sales have declined significantly due to fewer consumers scheduling in-person appointments. With the new virtual care technology, members will have access to high-quality hearing services from the comfort of their home.

Additionally, this technology may mitigate certain social determinants of health. For instance, those members who lack transportation access do not have to worry about securing a ride to an appointment in a traditional brick-and-mortar establishment.

To participate in Right2You, UnitedHealth Hearing members must first take an online hearing test to determine their hearing status. The online test is not a replacement for professional hearing tests.

If potential hearing loss is detected through the online test, members can then schedule an in-person hearing test with a UnitedHealthcare Hearing audiologist, hearing care professional, or another credentialed hearing healthcare provider. If available, members can also use the results of a previous hearing test.

Then, custom-programmed hearing aids are shipped directly to the member’s home. To make care delivery as efficient as possible, Right2You allows members to further customize their hearing aids remotely with a smartphone or tablet paired to the technology, instead of having to return to the provider’s office for adjustments or support.

The virtual care feature is designed for convenience as well as affordability; eligible members may save upwards of fifty percent on custom-programed hearing aids compared to traditional models.

This resource will help some of the 48 million Americans with hearing loss secure custom-programmed hearing aids. The prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss—caused by exposure to prolonged, repetitive, loud sounds—is growing and includes people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.

For more information about Right2You, visit uhchearing.com.

In May 2020, a group of lawmakers sent a letter asking Congressional leaders to include telehealth provisions of the Medicare Audiologist Access and Services Act in upcoming COVID-19 relief packages. The group of lawmakers was led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC).

“As COVID-19 forces many seniors into isolation, outdated Medicare requirements limit their ability to access the audiology services they need,” the letter stated. “Unlike other government programs and private insurers, including Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare currently mandates that beneficiaries obtain a physician order before they are allowed to access an audiologist, even for a hearing test.”

The letter noted that since Medicare laws have not been updated to classify audiologists as practitioners, not suppliers, they are excluded from health professionals who are authorized to be reimbursed for services delivered via telehealth.

“At this time it is necessary to remove the physician order requirement for Medicare beneficiaries who need audiology services and expand the waiver to include all services that audiologists are already authorized to bill for medically necessary in-person visits so long as they can safely and effectively provide these services through telehealth,” the letter concluded.