Adding Speech, Language, and Hearing Benefits to Employees’ Health Insurance

Why Is Communication Important?

Being able to communicate is important to learn, work, and connect with others. It also helps people maintain their independence.

When someone has trouble speaking or hearing, it can affect every part of their life—including time with family and success at work.

Covering speech, language, and hearing services costs much less than not providing these services at all. For example, it can avoid future costly insurance claims linked to untreated speech, language, and hearing disorders.

How Common Are Speech, Language, and Hearing Challenges?

• Around 38 million people in the U.S. have hearing loss in both ears—about a third (31%) are under the age of 65.
• Almost 6 million children in the United States have had a speech or language disorder.
• More than 875,000 children have a hearing challenge.
• Each year, more than 2.5 million Americans have brain injuries from strokes, accidents, or tumors that can affect their ability to speak or communicate. 

Why Do These Benefits Matter?

Offering speech, language, and hearing coverage as part of a health plan isn’t just helpful—it’s smart. These benefits can make a difference for an organization and its employees.

• Long-term savings: Early diagnosis and treatment of communication problems can help avoid more serious—and expensive—health issues later.
• Save time and boost productivity: When care is easy to access, employees spend less time trying to find services and more time focused on work.
• Show you care: Supporting communication needs shows employees you value their ability to connect on the job and in everyday life.
• Attract and keep talent: A well-rounded benefits package helps you keep your current team—and makes your workplace more appealing to new talent.

Schools do provide speech, language, and hearing services—but only for children who meet strict eligibility rules based on federal and state laws. Even when a child qualifies, school-based providers have limited time with each child. Additional support outside of school can help children reach their goals.

Adding full coverage for speech, language, and hearing services to your health plan can:

• lower overall health care costs
• help maintain quality services
• make it easier for employees and their families to get the care they need

It’s a smart investment in both health and productivity.

What Is the Cost of Adding Speech, Language, and Hearing Benefits?

Providing coverage for speech, language, and hearing services is affordable. It costs far less than ignoring these needs.

In 2016, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) worked with Milliman, a national consulting firm, to estimate how much it would cost a typical commercial health plan to cover these services. The study found:

• Only about 1 in 1,000 people used these services.
• The cost was about $1.48 per member, per month (PMPM).

This small cost will help people communicate, stay healthy, and avoid more serious—and expensive—issues over time.

Who Treats Speech, Language and Hearing Disorders?

Audiologists are specialists in hearing and balance. They test hearing, help patients choose the right hearing aid or device, and teach them how to use it.

• Scope of Practice in Audiology
• Preferred Practice Patterns for the Profession of Audiology

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) help people who have trouble speaking, understanding language, or swallowing. They test clients’ abilities and provide treatment to improve their skills.

• Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology
• Preferred Practice Patterns for the Profession of Speech-Language Pathology

What Are Certification and Licensure?

To make sure people get safe, high-quality care, audiologists and speech-language pathologists must meet certain requirements:

• Licensure is handled by each state. It helps protect the public by making sure only qualified professionals can practice. It also allows the state to act if someone is practicing unethically or unsafely.
• Certification is a national recognition that shows a professional has met high standards set by a trusted organization—like the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
• ASHA’s Code of Ethics outlines ethical requirements for audiologists and speech-language pathologists.

Both licensure and certification help ensure that people providing speech, language, and hearing services are trained and trustworthy. Requiring providers to be certified—and licensed, when applicable—gives your employees access to high-quality care.

What Benefits Should Be Covered?

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association developed model benefit plans for audiology and speech-language pathology services and devices.

The model benefit plans include:

• Audiology and speech-language pathology services that should be included.
• The circumstances under which the services should be covered.
• Recommendations about appropriate coverage levels.
• Recommendations for device allowances (e.g., hearing aids, augmentative and alternative communication devices).

Contact Us

E-mail ASHA's Health Care & Education Policy Team at reimbursement@asha.org if you need assistance as you work toward adding speech, language, and hearing benefits to your policy.