Report Title:

Hearing Loss; Healthcare Providers; Older Adults

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

50

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

Urging health care plans and providers to provide coverage for and utilize hearing screening in older PATIENTS.

 

 

WHEREAS, hearing impairment increases dramatically with advancing age and is a major cause of morbidity in older adults, with age related hearing loss affecting more than one-third of the United States population between sixty-five and seventy-five years old; and

WHEREAS, since women live longer than men and women constitute nearly two-thirds of the United States population over sixty-five years old, women comprise a larger portion of older adults with hearing loss; and

WHEREAS, hearing loss affects physical, emotional, cognitive, and social functions; it threatens independent living when a person fails to hear essential environmental sounds like a telephone, doorbell, alarm clock, or smoke detector; and

WHEREAS, health screening is an important aspect of health promotion and disease prevention and primary care physicians must be aware of health needs of older adults, particularly women, so this growing patient population can receive appropriate care that allows them to maintain maximal independence, function, and quality of life; and

WHEREAS, screening older adults for hearing impairment by periodically questioning them about their hearing, counseling them about the availability of hearing aid devices, and making referrals for abnormalities when appropriate, is recommended; and

WHEREAS, today's improved technology makes hearing screening quick and convenient; patients who need to be referred for more extensive review can be easily identified, allowing them to get the therapeutic help they need for hearing loss; and

WHEREAS, because a person who is suffering from mild to moderate hearing loss may be at serious risk without knowing it, healthcare policies should be amended to include coverage for hearing care and health care providers need to develop a greater awareness of hearing loss and the need for routine testing; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, that healthcare insurers are urged to include coverage for hearing care in health insurance plans, and physicians are encouraged to utilize appropriate health screening, including hearing impairment screening, in caring for older adult patients, particularly women; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Hawaii Medical Association, the Hawaii Medical Services Association, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, Queen's Health Plans, Straub Clinic and Hospital, Inc., the Hawaii Academy of Audiologists, the Executive Office on Aging, and the Commission on the Status of Women.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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