Kentucky Medicaid covers hearing aids for adults as well as kids — up to $1,200 per ear every 36 months — thanks to the benefit expansion that took effect January 1, 2023 and remains in the July 2025 fee schedule. Kids under 18 with state-regulated private insurance are entitled to at least $1,400 per hearing aid per ear every 36 months, and that minimum jumps to $2,500 under HB 164, signed into law in April 2026 and applying to plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027. If insurance falls short, the KATS Network, KCDHH's hearing aid resources, and low-interest KATLC loans can help close the gap.
By Lilly Seay · Updated July 2026
Kentucky Medicaid covers hearing aids for adults, a benefit added through Gov. Beshear's dental/vision/hearing expansion (all audiology codes billable for adults and children effective Jan 1, 2023, and still active in the July 1, 2025 fee schedule). The 2025 KY Medicaid Audiology Fee Schedule limits hearing aids to a maximum of $1,200 per ear per 36 months, with a manufacturer's invoice required (submitted with a paper claim), plus covered dispensing fees ($150 monaural/$200 binaural), fittings (6 per year), hearing aid checks and electroacoustic evaluations (1 per year for adults over 20), repairs ($115), batteries (12 per ear per month, effective 5/1/2024), and ear molds. Hearing exams are limited to 1 per calendar year for adults over 21 (4 per year for under 21), and a physician referral to the audiologist is required. Most members receive services through Medicaid managed care plans (e.g., Humana Healthy Horizons, WellCare, Passport).
Federal EPSDT law (42 U.S.C. § 1396d(r)(4)) requires every state — Kentucky included — to cover hearing aids for Medicaid-enrolled children under 21 at no cost to the family. Children under 21 are covered under EPSDT: hearing screenings (4 exams/year allowed under 21), hearing aids (same $1,200 per ear per 36 months fee-schedule limit), fittings, repairs, batteries, and ear molds through Kentucky Medicaid and KCHIP (Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program, the state CHIP). Families apply through kynect.ky.gov or their local Department for Community Based Services office; KCHIP covers uninsured kids in families up to about 218% of the federal poverty level at no or low cost.
State-regulated health plans must cover one hearing aid per hearing-impaired ear up to $1,400 every 36 months, plus related services, for insureds under age 18 — prescribed by a licensed audiologist and dispensed by a licensed audiologist or hearing instrument specialist; families may choose a higher-priced aid and pay the difference with no penalty. After SB 93 died in House Rules in 2025, the legislature passed HB 164 in 2026 (House 93-0, Senate 38-0; signed by the Governor April 3, 2026, Acts ch. 26): for health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, the minimum rises to $2,500 per hearing aid every 36 months, the definition of hearing aid broadens to any wearable device including earmolds (batteries and cords excluded), and insurer networks must include an adequate number of accessible audiologists. The same $2,500 coverage applies to the state employee health plan. ERISA self-funded employer plans are exempt.
Statute: KRS 304.17A-132 (amended by 2026 HB 164, Acts ch. 26)
Remember: state mandates only reach state-regulated ("fully insured") plans. Self-funded employer plans — covering about two-thirds of insured workers — are exempt under federal ERISA law. One question to HR settles which kind you have.
Kentucky's insurer landscape is unusually Medicaid- and Medicare-heavy for hearing coverage: five managed care plans deliver the state's adult Medicaid hearing aid benefit, Louisville-based Humana leads the Medicare Advantage market, and just three carriers — Anthem, Ambetter from WellCare, and Molina — sell 2026 individual plans on kynect, all bound by the state's children's hearing aid mandate.
One of three carriers selling 2026 individual plans on kynect, and a leading Medicare Advantage carrier in the state. As a state-regulated insurer, its Kentucky plans must follow the children's hearing aid mandate ($1,400 per aid per ear every 36 months, rising to $2,500 for plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027). Anthem exited Kentucky Medicaid managed care effective January 1, 2025.
Headquartered in Louisville and the leader in Kentucky's Medicare Advantage market; many Humana MA plans run their hearing aid benefit through TruHearing. Its Humana Healthy Horizons plan is a Kentucky Medicaid MCO delivering the adult benefit of up to $1,200 per hearing aid per ear every 36 months.
Centene's Kentucky operation sells Ambetter from WellCare individual plans on kynect (subject to the children's hearing aid mandate), offers WellCare Medicare Advantage plans, and runs WellCare of Kentucky, one of the five Medicaid MCOs delivering the state's hearing aid benefit.
A longtime Kentucky Medicaid plan now operated by Molina, delivering the Medicaid hearing benefit ($1,200 per ear every 36 months for adults, plus batteries and fittings). Molina Healthcare of Kentucky also sells individual marketplace plans on kynect.
One of Kentucky's five Medicaid MCOs, so it delivers the state's Medicaid hearing aid benefit for adults and children. Parent company Aetna also sells Medicare Advantage plans in Kentucky, most of which route hearing aid benefits through NationsHearing.
Its UnitedHealthcare Community Plan is a Kentucky Medicaid MCO delivering the state's hearing benefit, and UnitedHealthcare also sells Medicare Advantage plans across Kentucky, with MA hearing aids covered through the UnitedHealthcare Hearing network.
Yes. Kentucky Medicaid covers hearing aids for adults — a benefit added January 1, 2023 and still in place — paying up to $1,200 per ear every 36 months, plus dispensing fees, fittings, repairs, ear molds, and batteries (12 per ear per month). You'll need a physician referral to the audiologist, and hearing exams are limited to one per calendar year for adults over 21. Most members receive the benefit through a Medicaid managed care plan such as Humana Healthy Horizons, WellCare of Kentucky, Passport by Molina, Aetna Better Health, or UnitedHealthcare Community Plan.
Only for children. Kentucky law (KRS 304.17A-132) requires state-regulated health plans to cover one hearing aid per hearing-impaired ear, up to $1,400 every 36 months, for insureds under 18 — and thanks to HB 164, signed in April 2026, that minimum rises to $2,500 for plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027. Adults aren't covered by the mandate, and self-funded employer (ERISA) plans are exempt, so adult coverage depends on your specific plan from Anthem, Ambetter from WellCare, Molina, or your employer. When in doubt, call your insurer and ask directly.
Several Kentucky programs can help. The KATS Network (Kentucky Assistive Technology Services) lets you try devices and points you to funding, KCDHH maintains hearing aid assistance resources and runs the Telecommunications Access Program for free accessible phone equipment, and the Kentucky Assistive Technology Loan Corporation (KATLC) offers low-interest loans for hearing aids. If your income qualifies, Kentucky Medicaid is often the best route — it covers adults up to $1,200 per ear every 36 months. And if you're under 18 with state-regulated private insurance, your plan must cover at least $1,400 per aid.
HB 164, passed unanimously and signed April 3, 2026, strengthens Kentucky's children's hearing aid mandate. For health plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, the minimum benefit rises from $1,400 to $2,500 per hearing aid every 36 months for insureds under 18, the definition of a hearing aid broadens to any wearable device including earmolds (batteries and cords excluded), and insurers must maintain an adequate network of accessible audiologists. The same $2,500 coverage applies to the state employee health plan. Self-funded ERISA employer plans remain exempt, so check how your plan is regulated.
It depends on which Humana plan you have. Humana is headquartered in Louisville and leads Kentucky's Medicare Advantage market, and many of its MA plans include a hearing aid benefit administered through TruHearing — but allowances and copays vary by plan, so check your Evidence of Coverage or call Humana. On the Medicaid side, Humana Healthy Horizons in Kentucky delivers the state's Medicaid benefit, which covers adults up to $1,200 per hearing aid per ear every 36 months plus batteries and fittings. Humana doesn't sell individual marketplace plans in Kentucky — those come from Anthem, Ambetter from WellCare, and Molina.
While you sort out coverage, the Hearing Buddy app gives you live captions on your phone — free, instantly.