Committee hears 'Hollis Jennings Act' to expand hearing-aid coverage for dependents

Senator Sturgeon introduced Senate Substitute 1 for SB 269, the Hollis Jennings Act, asking the Senate Banking, Business, Insurance and Technology Committee to expand hearing-aid coverage for dependents up to age 26 and for individual-market plans sold on the exchange. The sponsor said Delaware currently caps benefits at $1,000 per aid every 36 months while modern digital aids can cost thousands of dollars.

The bill's sponsor, Senator Sturgeon, said the measure would bring Delaware in line with other states and help middle-income families who are ineligible for Medicaid yet cannot afford replacement and fitting costs. She named the bill for her constituent's daughter and introduced family members and clinical experts to testify.

Parents and students described the real-world impacts. Beth Jennings, a mother and law professor, recounted getting hearing aids for her daughter when they lived in Minnesota and said the family would not have been able to afford equivalent care without coverage. Jennings described hearing aids as essential to language development and academic progress and said high out-of-pocket costs force families to make difficult tradeoffs.

"Thousands of dollars is just... it would have been very difficult for us," Jennings said, urging the committee to consider the developmental and social costs of delayed access.

Thirteen-year-old Hollis Jennings told the committee that being unable to access language creates social isolation and mental-health effects and argued for equal access to language: "I believe that everyone has a right to language, and no one deserves silence." Audiologists and educators echoed that early, reliable access to hearing technologies is tied to educational outcomes and reduced long-term costs.

Drew Wilson, Medicaid director for the state of Delaware, told the committee that Medicaid does provide an eligibility pathway via the Children's Community Alternative Disability Program (CCADP) but that the federal standard for CCADP is narrow. "The criteria are very strict under federal requirements," Wilson said, explaining that CCADP typically requires significant functional impairment and an institutional level of care, so many children with isolated hearing loss do not qualify.

Committee staff referenced the fiscal note prepared for the bill, noting the analysis focused on the state employee plan (a 2024 estimate identified roughly 521 state-employee plan members who would have met prior eligibility in an earlier bill iteration). Committee discussion also cited the bill's delayed effective dates as written in the substitute: the office said the bill applies to plans written after 12/31/2027 and that changes to the state employee plan were expected to produce a fiscal effect in FY2029.

Several public witnesses from schools and statewide programs — including Kathleen Riley, Rebecca Castro, Mindy Failing and others — said most children who need hearing aids do not qualify for CCADP and described education and access problems in rural areas. Medical testimony from Dr. Yellin Verso of Nemours Children's Health emphasized that comprehensive care includes devices plus evaluation, fitting, follow-up and maintenance.

No formal committee vote on the bill was recorded during the hearing; the committee proceeded to other agenda items after testimony. The committee also invited follow-up questions for Medicaid and other agencies and noted written comments will be accepted for the record.

The committee adjourned without taking a final vote on SB 269; further committee action or scheduling for a report was not recorded in the transcript.