Hearing aids are built into some Kaiser Medicare plans (Mid-Atlantic, Colorado, some Southern California plans and, new for 2027, the Northwest Enhanced plan), but in most regions you add the optional Advantage Plus package ($10 to $54 a month for 2027) to get a hearing aid allowance, usable only inside Kaiser's own hearing network.
By Lilly Seay · Updated October 2026
Unlike many Medicare Advantage carriers that bundle a hearing benefit into every plan, most Kaiser Senior Advantage plans cover hearing exams but not hearing aids unless you add the optional Advantage Plus package for an extra monthly premium. Kaiser's 2027 Northern California brochure states it plainly: without the add-on, hearing aids are 'not generally covered except for certain implanted hearing devices covered by Medicare.' Kaiser's 2027 brochures say you can add Advantage Plus from October 15, 2026 through March 31, 2027, or within 30 days of joining, at kp.org/advantageplus. It is not available on Kaiser's dual-eligible (HMO D-SNP) plans. Almost every hearing line in Kaiser's 2027 Summaries of Benefits also carries the same warning: 'This hearing aid benefit may not be available next year.'
From Kaiser's 2027 Advantage Plus brochures and Summaries of Benefits. Northern California: $17 a month (down from $20) adds $800 per ear every 3 years, now bundled with dental and vision only; the One Pass fitness piece is gone. Southern California: $17 a month adds $1,000 per ear every 3 years, for $2,000 per ear on Value and Enhanced plans. Georgia: $13 a month (up from $12) adds $500 per ear every 3 years. Hawaii: $45 a month (down from $46) adds $1,500 toward up to two hearing aids every 3 years. Northwest (Oregon and SW Washington): $54 a month (up from $49) adds $500 per ear, $1,000 maximum, every 3 years. Washington: Advantage Plus 2 is $26 a month (up from $22) and now adds $3,000 for both ears combined every 3 years, down from $4,000 every 24 months in 2026. Colorado: Option 1 is $45 a month and Option 2 is now $10 (was $20), or $55 for both (was $65); each adds a $500 per ear credit, and for 2027 the credit is available every calendar year.
In Maryland, Virginia and DC, Kaiser's 2027 Medicare Advantage Summaries of Benefits show a $1,000 hearing aid allowance per ear every 36 months with no add-on, and Advantage Plus Option 1 ($18 a month) adds another $1,000 per ear for a $2,000 total. In Colorado's Denver Metro plans, the 2027 base allowance per ear every calendar year is $300 on Bronze and Core, $400 on Silver and $500 on Gold, and each Advantage Plus option adds $500 per ear. In Southern California, Value and Enhanced plans include $1,000 per ear every 3 years. New for 2027 in the Northwest, the Senior Advantage Enhanced plan includes a $500 allowance for 1 aid per ear every 3 years; Standard and Value still need the add-on. Washington base plans cover 2 hearing aid fitting and evaluation exams per calendar year at $0, up from one in 2026.
Kaiser does not use TruHearing, NationsHearing or Amplifon; none appear in its 2027 plan documents. In Northern California you buy at a Kaiser Permanente Hearing Center (kphearingcenters.com). In Colorado it's a Kaiser Permanente Hearing Center, and in Hawaii The Hearing Service Center by Kaiser Permanente or a participating provider (claim forms are required at participating providers). The big exception is Southern California, where hearing aids are sold only through HearUSA, run by HEARx West, a company co-owned by Kaiser entities and HearUSA, at 1-877-714-2828 (TTY 711). Kaiser's own Southern California audiology departments don't carry hearing aids. Two traps worth knowing: in Colorado and the Northwest any unused credit is forfeited at the initial purchase (Washington lets you spend the rest within the 3-year period from your first purchase), and the allowance can't be used for over-the-counter hearing aids. Northern California purchases carry a 3-year limited warranty that does not cover batteries, repairs or accessories; Southern California's 2027 brochure lists a 3-year manufacturer repair and loss or damage warranty that includes replacement batteries and ear molds.
Kaiser's 2027 brochures exclude its dual-eligible plans from Advantage Plus: Dual Complete in California, Dual Essential and Dual Complete in Colorado, and the Medicare Medicaid plan in Hawaii. Dual-eligible members get hearing aids through their state Medicaid benefit instead. In California, Medi-Cal sets a yearly cap on hearing aid spending for most adults, with exceptions; ask the Department of Health Care Services or your plan for the current amount. If you have a Kaiser D-SNP, call the Member Services number on your card and ask specifically how your state's Medicaid hearing benefit works with your plan.
Kaiser sells marketplace plans in all nine of its jurisdictions, and adult hearing aid coverage exists only where state law puts it there. Washington's updated essential health benefits benchmark adds hearing instruments — including bone conduction devices, one per ear every 3 years plus fitting and follow-up services — to individual and small-group plans beginning with 2026 plan years, and large-group and public-employee plans have carried a $3,000-per-ear-every-36-months minimum since January 1, 2024. Colorado's EHB benchmark covers hearing aids with no quantitative limit (a change first effective with 2023 plan years and continued in the 2025–2027 benchmark), and Hawaii's benchmark also includes hearing aids. For children, mandates in Kaiser's footprint include Georgia ($3,000 per ear every 48 months, ages 18 and under), Maryland ($1,400 per aid every 36 months for minors), Oregon ($4,000 per aid every 48 months, extending past 18 for enrolled dependent students), Virginia ($1,500 per aid, one per ear every 24 months, under 18), and Colorado (one per ear every 5 years with no dollar cap, under 18). California and DC have no hearing aid mandate — most Kaiser California individual plans exclude adult hearing aids entirely; to check any plan, open its Summary of Benefits and Coverage and read the 'Excluded Services & Other Covered Services' box for 'hearing aids.'
If your Kaiser coverage is fully insured through your employer, it must follow the mandate of the state where the policy is issued — which matters most in Washington ($3,000 per ear every 36 months for large groups since 2024) and for children in Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Oregon, and Virginia. If your employer self-funds its plan (common at large companies), ERISA exempts it from state mandates; Kaiser only administers the benefits your employer chose, so the same Kaiser card can mean full coverage at one company and zero at another. Some Kaiser employer groups buy an optional hearing aid rider, usually structured as a flat allowance per ear on a multi-year cycle redeemable at Kaiser hearing centers. The only way to know is your Evidence of Coverage or benefits summary, or a call to the Member Services number on your ID card.
Kaiser Permanente participates in Medi-Cal in California, Maryland HealthChoice, Hawaii's QUEST Integration, and the Oregon Health Plan through the Health Share of Oregon coordinated care organization; in Washington, Molina Healthcare took over Kaiser Permanente Washington's Apple Health business under a 2023 agreement. Hearing benefits follow each state's Medicaid rules, not Kaiser's commercial benefits. Children under 21 get medically necessary hearing services in every state through EPSDT, and adult coverage depends on the state. If you have Kaiser through Medicaid, ask Member Services for your state's hearing aid benefit rather than the commercial one.
Kaiser does not offer a Blue365- or Amplifon-style national hearing discount program. Its value proposition is different: an integrated model where diagnostic testing, hearing aid evaluation, fitting, follow-up adjustments, and cleanings are bundled at Kaiser's own centers, with evaluations at no extra charge on most plans. Members without a hearing aid benefit can still buy out of pocket at Kaiser hearing centers, and Kaiser's audiology sites offer guidance on over-the-counter hearing aids (kphearingcenters.com in California). If you're comparing costs, get Kaiser's quote in writing and compare it against Costco and TruHearing retail prices, since no discount network guarantees Kaiser is cheapest.
Kaiser's 2027 Advantage Plus packages shifted in almost every region. Washington's add-on now costs $26 a month and gives $3,000 for both ears every 3 years, down from $4,000 every 24 months. Colorado's hearing credit becomes yearly and Option 2 drops to $10 a month. Northern California drops to $17 a month and loses its fitness benefit. The Northwest rises to $54 a month, but its Enhanced plan now includes a $500 per ear allowance without the add-on. Georgia rises to $13 a month and Hawaii falls to $45. Medicare Open Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, 2026, and Kaiser's Advantage Plus window runs to March 31, 2027. Separately, Washington's hearing instrument mandate for large-group plans took effect in 2024, and the state's benchmark plan brings hearing instruments to individual and small-group plans starting with 2026 plan years.
Sometimes; it depends on your region and plan. Most Kaiser Medicare plans cover hearing exams but not hearing aids unless you buy the optional Advantage Plus package ($10 to $54 a month for 2027), which adds an allowance of roughly $500 to $1,000 per ear. Some plans build it in: Maryland, Virginia and DC plans include $1,000 per ear every 36 months, Colorado plans include a yearly base allowance, Southern California's Value and Enhanced plans include $1,000 per ear, and for 2027 the Northwest Enhanced plan includes $500 per ear. Marketplace plans cover adults only where state law requires it, as in Washington and Colorado. Check your Evidence of Coverage or call Member Services.
Advantage Plus is an optional benefits package Kaiser Medicare members can add to an individual plan for an extra monthly premium, bundling hearing aid coverage with dental, vision or other extras depending on region. For 2027 the hearing piece ranges from $500 per ear every 3 years in Georgia ($13 a month) and the Northwest ($54 a month), to $800 per ear in Northern California ($17 a month), $1,000 per ear in Southern California ($17 a month), $1,500 for up to two aids in Hawaii ($45 a month), and $3,000 for both ears every 3 years in Washington ($26 a month). You can enroll October 15, 2026 through March 31, 2027 at kp.org/advantageplus. It is not available on Kaiser's D-SNP plans.
No. Kaiser is unusual among big carriers: instead of contracting with TruHearing, NationsHearing or Amplifon, it runs the hearing benefit through its own audiology departments and Kaiser Permanente Hearing Centers. The exceptions are Southern California, where hearing aids are sold only through HearUSA (HEARx West), a company Kaiser entities co-own with HearUSA, and Hawaii, where it runs through The Hearing Service Center by Kaiser Permanente or participating providers. That means your allowance only works inside Kaiser's network; you can't take it to Costco, a private audiologist or an online seller.
Plan on paying everything above your allowance. Kaiser's benefits are flat-dollar credits, not copays: if your plan gives $500 per ear and you choose $2,000-per-ear devices, you pay $1,500 per ear yourself. Batteries, repairs and accessories aren't covered under the Northern California warranty, and OTC aids can't be bought with the allowance. In Colorado and the Northwest, allowance you don't spend at the initial purchase is forfeited, so ask for an itemized quote before you buy.
Only where state law requires it. Washington's essential health benefits benchmark adds hearing instruments — one per ear every 3 years, including bone conduction devices — to individual and small-group plans beginning with 2026 plan years, and Washington large-group plans have had a $3,000-per-ear-every-36-months minimum since January 1, 2024. Colorado's benchmark covers hearing aids with no quantitative limit, and Hawaii's benchmark includes hearing aids too. In California, Georgia, and DC there is no adult mandate, and Kaiser individual plans there generally exclude hearing aids. Children fare better: Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Oregon, and Virginia all mandate pediatric coverage. Check your plan's SBC under 'Excluded Services & Other Covered Services' to be sure.
Kaiser's 2027 brochures say Advantage Plus isn't available on its dual-eligible (HMO D-SNP) plans, so your hearing aids come through your state's Medicaid benefit instead. In California, Medi-Cal covers hearing aids for most adults up to a yearly cap, with exceptions; ask your plan or the Department of Health Care Services for the current amount. Other states in Kaiser's footprint have their own Medicaid hearing rules. Call the Member Services number on your Kaiser card and ask how your state's Medicaid hearing benefit works with your plan.
While you sort out coverage, the Hearing Buddy app gives you live captions on your phone — free, instantly.