BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1950 (Maienschein) - Hearing aids: audio switch
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|Version: April 25, 2016 |Policy Vote: B., P. & E.D. 8 - |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Brendan McCarthy |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1950 would require licensed hearing aid dispensers
and licensed dispensing audiologists to provide consumers with a
disclosure developed by the Speech-Language Pathology and
Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board that includes
information about a specific technology used in some hearing
aids.
Fiscal
Impact:
One-time costs of about $100,000 and ongoing costs of $70,000
for the development of the consumer disclosure, adoption of
regulations, and ongoing review of the necessary information
in the disclosure by the Speech-Language Pathology and
Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board (Speech-Language
Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Fund).
Potential additional costs of $50,000 to $150,000 per year to
respond to consumer complaints and take disciplinary action by
the Board (Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing
AB 1950 (Maienschein) Page 1 of
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Aid Dispensers Fund). There are about 230,000 purchases of
hearing aids in the state each year. Of those purchases, a
significant portion are for hearing aids that do not include
the "telecoil" technology that would be the subject of the
consumer disclosure under the bill. When a consumer is
dispensed one type of hearing aid (under the professional
judgment of the dispenser or audiologist) but also given
information about a different type of hearing aid, some number
of those consumers will be confused or feel that they have not
been well served by the dispenser or audiologist. If even 1%
of those consumers make a complaint to the Board, there will
be substantial staff costs to process those complaints.
Unknown impact on public health care programs such as Medi-Cal
and CalPERS (various funds). The Medi-Cal program and most
CalPERS health plans provide coverage for hearing aids. By
providing information to consumers about a specific type of
hearing aid technology, the bill may result in some consumers
requesting a hearing aid with that technology, rather than a
different hearing aid that would have been dispensed absent
the consumer notification. To the extent that there is any
consumer shift towards telecoil hearing aids under the bill,
there could be cost implications for public programs that pay
for hearing aids, if telecoil hearing aids are more expensive
than the hearing aid a consumer would have been dispensed
absent the disclosure.
Background: Under current law hearing aid dispensers and audiologists are
licensed and regulated by the Speech-Language Pathology and
Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board.
In general, hearing aids are devices that amplify ambient sound
and are placed behind the ear, in the ear, or in the ear canal.
In addition to amplifying ambient sound, there are technologies
on the market to improve the function of hearing aids by working
with outside systems. For example, "telecoil" (also referred to
as "t-coil" or "t-switch") technology connects a hearing aid to
an outside system that records sound in a room and then
broadcasts it to telecoil devises, to improve the hearing
experience. For example, a movie theater may be equipped with a
telecoil system that transmits the sounds from the movie
directly to the hearing aids of those in the theater using the
telecoil technology in the hearing aid. There are other
technologies that use Bluetooth or FM radio signals to provide
AB 1950 (Maienschein) Page 2 of
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similar enhancements to the use of hearing aids.
Proposed Law:
AB 1950 would require licensed hearing aid dispensers and
licensed dispensing audiologists to provide consumers with a
disclosure developed by the Speech-Language Pathology and
Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board with information
about a specific technology used in some hearing aids.
Specific provisions of the bill would:
After July 1, 2017, require a licensed hearing aid dispenser
or a licensed dispensing audiologist, upon the sale of a
hearing aid, to provide the purchaser with a copy of a
consumer hearing aid disclosure developed by the Board;
Before July 1, 2017, require the Board to develop a consumer
hearing aid disclosure that provides information for the
benefit of consumers, including information on telecoil,
t-coil, or t-switch.
Staff comments: The only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency relate to crimes and infractions. Under the California
Constitution, such costs are not reimbursable by the state.
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