,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #cgci  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,january #bi1  
#bjbf,mrs4 ,blackburn 7for herself1 ,mr4
 ,schiff1 and ,mr4 ,grassley7 introduced
 the following bill2 which was read     
twice and referred to the ,committee on 
,veterans' ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
direct the ,secretary of ,veterans      
,affairs to carry out a demonstration   
project on coverage by the ,department  
of ,veterans ,affairs of                
over-the-counter hearing aids1 and for  
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,veterans      
,hearing ,aid ,improvement ,act of      
#bjbf4  #b4 ,demonstration project on   
coverage by ,department of ,veterans    
,affairs of over-the-counter hearing    
aids  7a7 ,establishment of             
demonstration project ,beginning not    
later than one year after the date of   
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs 7in    
this section referred to as the         

,secretary7 shall commence a project 7in
 this section referred to as the        
demonstration project7 to demonstrate   
and evaluate the fiscal impact of       
covering ,,fda-cleared1 over-the-counter
 hearing aids under section #agjg7;b7 of
 title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 in   
the same or similar manner as coverage  
is provided for prescription hearing    
aids under such section4  7b7 ,duration 
,the ,secretary shall carry out the     
demonstration project for a period of   
two years4  7c7 ,eligible participants  
,a veteran is eligible to participate in
 the demonstration project if-- 7#a7 the
 veteran is enrolled in the system of   
annual patient enrollment established   
and operated under section #agje7;a7 of 
title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code2  7#b7 
an audiologist determines1 through a    
clinical evaluation of the veteran1     
that-- 7,a7 furnishing an               
over-the-counter hearing aid to the     
veteran for mild-to-moderate hearing    
loss is medically necessary2  7,b7 the  

veteran has no red flag conditions or   
contraindications for over-the-counter  
hearing aid use1 as specified by the    
,food and ,drug ,administration2 and    
7#c7 the veteran has access to a mobile 
phone device and mobile data or ,wi-,fi1
 or any successor technology1 to operate
 over-the-counter hearing aid           
functionality4  7d7 ,locations ,the     
,secretary shall carry out the          
demonstration project at not fewer than 
two medical facilities of the           
,department of ,veterans ,affairs       
selected by the ,secretary across       
different ,veterans ,integrated         
,services ,networks and that have a     
demonstrated ability to reduce access   
barriers and provide services to a      
diverse veteran population in both rural
 and urban settings and surrounding     
areas4  7e7 ,project design  7#a7 ,in   
general ,the ,secretary shall design the
 demonstration project to demonstrate   
the effectiveness of ,,fda-cleared1     
over-the-counter hearing aids compared  

to professionally fitted prescription   
hearing aids by an audiologist according
 to the audiological best practices of  
the ,department of ,veterans of         
,affairs1 including the fiscal impact on
 the ,department of providing permanent 
coverage of over-the-counter hearing    
aids under section #agjg7;b7 of title   
#ch1 ,united ,states ,code4  7#b7       
,design elements  7,a7 ,in general ,the 
,secretary shall ensure the             
demonstration project includes the      
following study groups3 7i7 ,an         
,,fda-cleared1 over the counter hearing 
aid group4  7ii7 ,an audiologist-fitted 
prescription hearing aid group4  7,b7   
,participants ,the ,secretary shall     
allocate an approximately equal number  
of participants in the demonstration    
project to each group specified in      
subparagraph 7,a74  7f7 ,measurement of 
benefits ,to the maximum extent         
possible1 in carrying out the           
demonstration project1 the ,secretary   
shall measure both self-reported        

benefits and speech recognition in noise
 among a diverse veteran population and 
evaluate the fiscal impact over a       
two-year follow-up period of permanent  
coverage of over-the-counter hearing    
aids under section #agjg7;b7 of title   
#ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 for the     
,,fda-cleared1 over-the-counter hearing 
aids found under the demonstration      
project to be most beneficial4  7g7     
,consultation ,in conducting the        
demonstration project1 the ,secretary   
shall consult with organizations that   
represent consumers with                
mild-to-moderate hearing loss and other 
stakeholder organizations4  7h7 ,reports
  7#a7 ,interim report ,not later than  
one year after the commencement of the  
demonstration project1 the ,secretary   
shall submit to the ,committee on       
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and  
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of
 the ,house of ,representatives a report
 that describes the progress and        
preliminary findings from the           

demonstration project4  7#b7 ,final     
report  7,a7 ,in general ,not later than
 #ahj days after the last day of the    
demonstration project and after         
solicitation and consideration of formal
 written input on the project from      
organizations specified under subsection
 7g71 the ,secretary shall submit to the
 ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of   
the ,senate and the ,committee on       
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of    
,representatives a final report on the  
project4  7,b7 ,elements ,the report    
required under subparagraph 7,a7 shall  
include an evaluation of the fiscal     
impact on the ,department of ,veterans  
,affairs of providing permanent coverage
 of over-the-counter hearing aids under 
section #agjg7;b7 of title #ch1 ,united 
,states ,code1 and such other findings  
and recommendations as the ,secretary   
determines appropriate4  7i7            
,,fda-,cleared1 over-,the-,counter      
hearing aid defined ,in this section1   
the term ,,fda-cleared1 over-the-counter

 hearing aid means a device--  7#a7     
cleared by the ,food and ,drug          
,administration2  7#b7 fully regulated  
by the ,food and ,drug ,administration  
under section #ebj7q7 of the ,federal   
,food1 ,drug1 and ,cosmetic ,act 7#ba   
,u4,s4,c4 #cfj;j7q772 and  7#c7 that    
contains features that allow            
personalization through technology1 such
 as hearing tests1 software1 and smart  
phone applications4  #c4 ,comptroller   
,general study and report on veterans   
hearing aid benefits  7a7 ,study ,the   
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states shall conduct a study on the    
furnishing to veterans with             
mild-to-moderate hearing loss under     
section #agjg7;b7 of title #ch1 ,united 
,states ,code1 of assistance for hearing
 aids and related examinations4  7b7    
,elements ,the study required under     
subsection 7a7-- 7#a7 shall include an  
examination of-- 7,a7 the number of     
individuals in the ,united ,states with 
mild-to-moderate hearing loss who need  

hearing aids2  7,b7 the medical coverage
 of such individuals relating to        
obtaining hearing aids2 and  7,c7 the   
effectiveness of such medical coverage  
in meeting such need2 and  7#b7 may     
include an examination of contract      
design for purchasing hearing aid       
devices4  7c7 ,report  7#a7 ,in general 
,not later than #ah months after the    
date of the enactment of this ,act1 the 
,comptroller ,general shall submit to   
,congress a report on the study         
conducted under subsection 7a74  7#b7   
,recommendations ,the report required   
under paragraph 7#a7 shall include such 
recommendations on changes to programs  
and benefits of the ,department of      
,veterans ,affairs1 including the       
establishment of new programs and       
benefits1 as would meet the needs of    
veterans with mild-to-moderate hearing  
loss4