Who usually covers hearing aids
The honest answer is that it depends on the kind of plan you have.
Original Medicare does not cover hearing aids or exams for fitting them. Our Medicare guide covers what Parts A and B do and do not pay for.
Medicare Advantage (Part C) is where most hearing aid coverage lives today. According to KFF, 98 percent of individual Medicare Advantage plans offer some hearing benefit in 2026. That may be a hearing exam, a hearing aid benefit, or both, and the value varies by plan.
Commercial plans through an employer or the Marketplace mostly do not cover hearing aids for adults. Some employer plans do, usually as an allowance every few years. A number of states require certain state-regulated plans to cover hearing aids, but according to the American Academy of Audiology’s 2026 summary, neither Georgia nor Texas has an adult mandate. Texas requires coverage for children only. Self-insured employer plans are generally not bound by state mandates in any case.
Federal employee plans often include a hearing aid benefit. The 2026 FEHB plan brochures on OPM.gov show benefits that differ by carrier, with limits per aid and per period, often every three to five years.
Unions and state programs sometimes include a hearing aid benefit through a trust fund or a vocational rehabilitation program. These vary too much to summarize. Ask, or let us ask for you.
If any of this is unclear, the fastest path is a free benefit check. You bring your card. We make the calls.
How plan hearing networks work
Most plans do not pay a clinic directly for hearing aids. Instead, the plan contracts with a hearing network. The network does three things:
- It sets the member price for each technology level, or administers the plan’s allowance.
- It builds a list of contracted clinics, and the plan requires members to use one of them.
- It handles the paperwork between the plan, the clinic and the manufacturer.
So when your plan says it “covers hearing aids,” what it usually means is “your plan’s hearing network will give you a set price or allowance at a network clinic.” Using a clinic outside the network can mean no benefit at all.
Piccolo Hearing is in-network with UnitedHealthcare Hearing, TruHearing, Nations Hearing, Amplifon Hearing Health Care and Start Hearing at both the Duluth and Houston clinics. The sections below describe each network as its own site describes it. We do not quote specific plan prices here because they vary by plan and by year.
UnitedHealthcare Hearing
UnitedHealthcare Hearing is the hearing care program used by many UnitedHealthcare plans. Its site lays out three steps: check your plan benefits, find a provider, choose hearing aids. Members can sign in for a personalized view of their benefits and pricing, and the program offers both prescription and over-the-counter hearing aids. Follow-up visits after purchase depend on the level of hearing aid chosen. UnitedHealthcare notes that benefits, features and devices vary by plan and area, and that network restrictions may apply.
TruHearing
TruHearing describes itself as a hearing benefits provider that partners with health plans, Medicare Advantage plans, unions and employers. A member calls TruHearing or requests an appointment online, a TruHearing consultant verifies the benefit, and TruHearing schedules the appointment with a network clinic. TruHearing says its network has more than 8,850 locations. The hearing exam, fitting and follow-up happen at the clinic. What is included with the hearing aids, such as follow-up visits, trial period and warranty, is set by the TruHearing program and varies by plan.
Nations Hearing
Nations Hearing is the hearing program of NationsBenefits, which administers supplemental benefits for health plans, including many Medicare Advantage plans. A member calls Nations to schedule a hearing exam with a network provider. If hearing aids are recommended, the member orders them using the plan’s hearing benefit, and the provider programs and fits them. Nations’ plan materials describe an evaluation period, follow-up visits and a manufacturer warranty, with the details set by each plan. Some plans also offer over-the-counter devices shipped to the home.
Amplifon Hearing Health Care
Amplifon Hearing Health Care provides hearing benefits for health plans, Medicare Advantage plans, employers and membership groups. Amplifon says it partners with more than 80 plans and has more than 8,800 in-network providers. A member checks the benefit with Amplifon by phone or online, is matched to a network clinic, and gets the hearing exam, fitting and follow-up there. Amplifon’s program sets the member pricing and what is included, and that varies by plan.
Start Hearing
Start Hearing offers hearing benefits and member pricing through a network of more than 3,000 hearing care providers. Its site mentions members of certain health plans and federal employee benefits. A member enters a zip code to find a network provider, has a hearing evaluation and fitting, and gets ongoing support from the program’s Hearing Care Advisors. Start Hearing describes risk-free trials, with the details set by the program.
UnitedHealthcare hearing aid coverage
Because this is one of the most common questions we hear, it deserves its own section.
Many UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans include a routine hearing benefit. On those plans, UnitedHealthcare states that members have access to a yearly routine hearing exam, a selection of prescription and over-the-counter hearing aids, and a manufacturer warranty that includes a trial period. The benefit is structured as a copay per aid that depends on the technology level, and the plan covers hearing aids only from a UnitedHealthcare Hearing network provider. Copay amounts and the number of aids allowed vary by plan and by year.
Commercial UnitedHealthcare plans are different. Many do not include hearing aids at all, and some include only a discount program. The only way to know is to check the specific plan, which we do for free.
What a benefit check involves at Piccolo
A benefit check takes a few minutes of your time and a bit more of ours.
- Bring your card. Your health plan card, and a hearing network card if you have one. If you book online, you can tell us your plan in the notes.
- We call the plan or the network. We confirm whether you have a hearing aid benefit, whether it is an allowance or a copay, whether it is per ear or per pair, how often it renews, and whether anything has been used this year.
- We tell you the number in writing before anything is ordered. No surprises at pickup.
- There is no charge. The benefit check is free, and so is the hearing test. You do not have to buy anything.
If the plan says you have no hearing aid coverage, we tell you that too, and we show you what the hearing aids would cost without it.
How to read your own plan’s hearing benefit
If you want to look yourself, here is where to find it.
Where it is. For a Medicare Advantage plan, open the Evidence of Coverage, which the plan mails each fall and posts online. Look in the benefits chart for “Hearing services” or “Hearing aids.” For an employer plan, look in the Summary of Benefits and Coverage or the plan document for “Hearing aids.”
Allowance or copay. An allowance is a dollar amount the plan contributes, and you pay anything above it. A copay is a fixed price you pay per aid, with the plan’s network setting the rest.
Per ear or per pair. Some plans state the benefit per ear, some per pair, and some say “up to two hearing aids per year.” This changes the math, so read it closely.
Frequency. Many plans renew the benefit every plan year. Others allow new hearing aids only every two or three years. Check the exact wording.
In-network only. Most hearing benefits require a network provider. The plan document will name the network or say “must use a network provider.”
If the language is confusing, bring the page with you. We read these documents every day.
HSA, FSA and CareCredit
Whatever your plan covers, three tools can help with the rest.
- HSA and FSA. IRS Publication 502 lists a hearing aid, its batteries, repairs and maintenance as medical expenses, so health savings and flexible spending funds can be used. We accept both.
- CareCredit. A health and wellness credit card with promotional financing options, subject to credit approval. Read the promotional terms before you sign.
- Combining them. Many patients use a plan benefit for part, then an HSA or CareCredit for the rest.
Our cost guide goes deeper on what drives the price and how to compare quotes.
What if you have no coverage
Plenty of people who come in have no hearing aid benefit at all. Here is what still applies.
- The hearing test is free, with no purchase required.
- You get a written quote you can take home, with the technology level, one aid or two, and everything that is bundled.
- Ongoing follow-up care is included with hearing aids bought from us, so the price you see is the price you pay for the care, not just the device.
- Financing is available through CareCredit, and HSA and FSA funds can be used.
- The 45-day trial applies. Ask us for the trial terms in writing.
For the local details on Medicare Advantage benefits, see our pages for Duluth and Houston.