ROBERTS/CONAWAY BILL REQUIRING INSURERSCOVER KIDS' HEARING AIDS HEADS TO GOVERNOR'Grace's Law' Would Ensure Coverage for Children Below Age 16(TRENTON) - Legislation Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. and Assemblyman Herb Conaway, M.D. sponsored to require health insurance plans to provide coverage of medical expenses incurred for hearing aids for children 15-years-old and younger was today passed by the Assembly and sent to the Governor's desk.Nearly 10 percent of New Jersey's public school children have some form of hearing problem or hearing loss. Many insurance providers cover the cost of annual hearing tests, but few cover the costs of purchasing hearing aids - even when the device is deemed a medical necessary."The treatment of hearing loss in children with hearing aids is not a luxury," said Roberts (D-Camden).  "It's unimaginable that insurers can effectively deny hearing-impaired children the opportunity to learn to hear, speak, and communicate like everyone else."Currently, there are no state or federal mandates for coverage of hearing aids by insurers.  However, riders are available for purchase by groups that provide limited benefits for hearing aids.The measure (A-1571) - dubbed "Grace's Law" in honor of Grace Gleba, a New Jersey girl with a severe hearing impairment - would require hospitals, medical and health service corporations, commercial insurers, health maintenance organizations, health benefits plans issued pursuant to the NJ Individual Health Coverage and Small Employer Health Benefits Program, the State Health Benefits Program, and NJ FamilyCare to provide coverage of expenses for purchasing hearing aids for covered children 15 and younger."Hearing aids are a vital first step in treating hearing loss," said Conaway (D-Burlington), a practicing physician.  "Moreover, they can make a major difference in a child's education and ability to understand speech in the critical early years."If enacted into law, insurers would be required to extend coverage for the purchase of a hearing aid for each ear, when medically necessary, as prescribed by a licensed physician or audiologist.  Insurers would be permitted to limit the benefit to $1,000 per hearing aid for each impaired ear every 24 months.The Assembly approved the measure 72-3 with one abstention. It now heads to the Governor, who may sign it, veto it, or modify it in the form of a conditional veto.--30--