Humana Inc., the Louisville, Ky.-based health insurance company, says it’s teaming up with a hearing aid company to provide Medicare beneficiaries in Spokane County and five other counties in Washington state with better access to hearing exams and affordable hearing aids.

Its partner in the new offering is TruHearing Inc., a Draper, Utah-based national hearing-aid benefit administrator that has a contracted network of more than 3,800 hearing professionals and works with more than 60 managed-care organizations across the country.

Humana says it is including the new hearing aid benefit on Medicare Advantage HMO plans offered for the 2017 plan year in Spokane, King, Pierce, Snohomish, Clark, and Thurston counties.

The benefit allows for one annual routine hearing exam at no cost to the member and introduces a copayment for hearing aids, simplifying the cost, the company says. Members will be able to obtain two hearing aids per year, one per ear, with the choice of a standard TruHearing hearing aid for a $699 copay or a premium TruHearing hearing aid for a $999 copay. Copays are per hearing aid.

TruHearing hearing aids include three provider visits for fittings and evaluations within the first year of the hearing aid purchase, a 45-day trial period, a three-year extended warranty, and 48 batteries per aid—all at no extra cost to the member. The hearing aids offer wireless connectivity to a user’s smartphone or tablet computer and come in a variety of sizes, colors, and styles, the two companies say.

Catherine Field, Humana’s Federal Way, Wash.-based Intermountain vice president for senior products, says data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that one in four Americans age 70 and older have hearing impairment, yet hearing aids have been unaffordable and out-of-reach for many Medicare beneficiaries.

A Humana press release, citing a National Academies of Sciences report on hearing aid affordability, says the average retail price of two hearing aids in 2013 was about $4,700. 

“Hearing is an important part of our everyday lives. Studies have shown that hearing loss is associated with depression and anxiety, which can impact a person’s relationship with friends and family and their participating in social activities,” Field says.

People with Medicare may select the Humana plans during the annual Medicare enrollment period, which began last Saturday, Oct. 15, and runs through Wednesday, Dec. 7.