Does job-based or Marketplace insurance cover hearing aids?

Usually not covered for adults: only 10 states require job-based and Marketplace plans to pay for adult hearing aids. Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington require state-regulated plans to cover adult hearing aids, usually one per ear every 3 to 5 years, and about 20 states require it for children; self-funded employer plans don’t have to follow these rules. Over-the-counter hearing aids for mild to moderate loss cost far less than prescription ones. Cost: If covered, often an allowance every 3 to 5 years; without coverage, prescription aids average about $2,000 each.

Does Original Medicare cover hearing aids?

No, Original Medicare doesn’t cover hearing aids. Part B covers diagnostic hearing and balance exams, and you can see an audiologist once every 12 months without a doctor’s order. It doesn’t cover hearing aids or fittings; Medicare Advantage plans often add a hearing-aid allowance.

Does Medicare Advantage cover hearing aids?

Usually yes: 95% of Medicare Advantage members have hearing coverage, usually a yearly allowance toward hearing aids. Plans set how much they pay per hearing aid and often require their own hearing aid vendor; most also cover a hearing exam each year. Check the allowance and the vendor before you buy.

Does Medicaid cover hearing aids?

Depends on your state for adults; covered for children. Federal law (called EPSDT) requires Medicaid to cover the hearing care a child medically needs.

Is hearing aids covered by insurance?

Hearing aids and fittings. Here’s how each kind of plan usually handles it.

Ask a specific question Plan a visit: cost and doctors Check it against my plan

Employer or MarketplaceUsually not covered
Usually not covered for adults: only 10 states require job-based and Marketplace plans to pay for adult hearing aids.
More details
Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington require state-regulated plans to cover adult hearing aids, usually one per ear every 3 to 5 years, and about 20 states require it for children; self-funded employer plans don’t have to follow these rules. hearing aids for mild to moderate loss cost far less than prescription ones.
Cost: If covered, often an allowance every 3 to 5 years; without coverage, prescription aids average about $2,000 each.
Original MedicareUsually not covered
No, Original Medicare doesn’t cover hearing aids.
More details
covers diagnostic hearing and balance exams, and you can see an audiologist once every 12 months without a doctor’s order. It doesn’t cover hearing aids or fittings; plans often add a hearing-aid allowance.
Medicare AdvantageUsually covered
Usually yes: 95% of Medicare Advantage members have hearing coverage, usually a yearly allowance toward hearing aids.
More details
Plans set how much they pay per hearing aid and often require their own hearing aid vendor; most also cover a hearing exam each year. Check the allowance and the vendor before you buy.
MedicaidDepends on the plan
Depends on your state for adults; covered for children.
More details
Federal law (called ) requires Medicaid to cover the hearing care a child medically needs.

Plan type	How it’s usually covered
Employer or MarketplaceUsually not covered	Usually not covered for adults: only 10 states require job-based and Marketplace plans to pay for adult hearing aids. Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington require state-regulated plans to cover adult hearing aids, usually one per ear every 3 to 5 years, and about 20 states require it for children; self-funded employer plans don’t have to follow these rules. hearing aids for mild to moderate loss cost far less than prescription ones. Cost: If covered, often an allowance every 3 to 5 years; without coverage, prescription aids average about $2,000 each.
Original MedicareUsually not covered	No, Original Medicare doesn’t cover hearing aids. covers diagnostic hearing and balance exams, and you can see an audiologist once every 12 months without a doctor’s order. It doesn’t cover hearing aids or fittings; plans often add a hearing-aid allowance.
Medicare AdvantageUsually covered	Usually yes: 95% of Medicare Advantage members have hearing coverage, usually a yearly allowance toward hearing aids. Plans set how much they pay per hearing aid and often require their own hearing aid vendor; most also cover a hearing exam each year. Check the allowance and the vendor before you buy.
MedicaidDepends on the plan	Depends on your state for adults; covered for children. Federal law (called ) requires Medicaid to cover the hearing care a child medically needs.

What usually has to be true

Plans may require their contracted vendor.

Good to know

Over-the-counter hearing aids have been available since 2022 for mild to moderate loss.
HSA/FSA funds can pay for hearing aids.

Hearing test · Hearing and balance exams, and children's hearing screenings.
Eye exam · Routine vision exams and medical eye care.

Sources

Typical rules for 2026 plans, checked against these sources on October 20, 2026. Your plan’s own documents decide.

1
Essential health benefits
HealthCare.gov
Essential health benefits are ten categories of services, including ambulatory care, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use services, prescription drugs, rehabilitative and habilitative services, laboratory services, preventive care, and pediatric services including oral and vision care.
2
Hearing aids
Medicare.gov
Original Medicare does not cover hearing aids or exams for fitting them. Some Medicare Advantage plans offer extra hearing benefits.
3
Hearing and balance exams
Medicare.gov
Part B covers diagnostic hearing and balance exams when ordered to determine whether medical treatment is needed; certain audiologist visits are covered once every 12 months without an order.
4
Compare Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage
Medicare.gov
Medicare Advantage plans cover everything Original Medicare covers (except hospice, which Original Medicare continues to pay), usually use provider networks, often require referrals or prior authorization, and may offer extra benefits such as dental, vision, and hearing.
5
Medicare Advantage in 2026: Premiums, Out-of-Pocket Limits, Supplemental Benefits, and Prior Authorization
KFF
Most enrollees in individual plans are in plans with dental care (98%), eye exams and/or glasses (more than 99%), hearing exams and/or aids (95%), and a fitness benefit (91%). Fewer have over-the-counter benefits (68% in 2026 vs 79% in 2025), bathroom safety devices (21% in 2026 vs 32% in 2025), and transportation benefits (22% in 2026 vs 28% in 2025). Most enrollees are in HMOs (61%), 38% are in local PPOs, and less than 1% are in regional PPOs in 2026.
6
Supplemental benefits in Medicare Advantage (June 2025 Report to the Congress, chapter 2)
MedPAC
In 2025, more than 95 percent of MA enrollees in conventional plans are in plans that cover at least one preventive dental service or at least one comprehensive service. Nearly 95 percent are in plans offering coverage for eye exams and eyewear, up from 56 percent to 93 percent between 2014 and 2025. The share in plans covering both hearing exams and hearing aids rose from roughly 41 percent to 92 percent. In 2023, more than three-quarters of MA plans used a dental limit of at least $1,500.
7
Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT)
Medicaid.gov
EPSDT requires Medicaid to cover screening, vision, dental, hearing, and all medically necessary services for children and adolescents under 21, even when the state does not cover the service for adults.

General information about how coverage usually works, not a decision about your plan. Your plan documents and insurer have the final word.

Is hearing aids covered by insurance?

What usually has to be true

Good to know

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Sources