New Jersey recently became one of the best states for hearing aid coverage: Grace's Law was expanded in 2024 so state-regulated insurance plans must now cover a hearing aid for each ear every 24 months for people of ALL ages — the old $1,000 cap and age-15 limit are gone. NJ FamilyCare (Medicaid/CHIP) covers hearing aids too, and if you're 65+ or on Social Security Disability with modest income, the HAAAD program can reimburse you $500 per hearing aid on top of everything else.
By Lilly Seay · Updated July 2026
NJ FamilyCare (Medicaid) covers hearing aids for adults. Per the state's DDHH Grace's Law guidance, NJ FamilyCare members of all ages are eligible for one hearing aid (or cochlear implant) per ear every 24 months with no monetary cap, with a prescription from a licensed physician or audiologist. Under N.J.A.C. 10:64-2.1, for beneficiaries 21+, a physician or advanced practice nurse must first determine that an audiological examination is medically necessary before a hearing aid is prescribed (an otologic exam always precedes a hearing aid prescription). Benefits are delivered through NJ FamilyCare managed-care plans, and benefit administration can vary by NJ FamilyCare plan letter, so members should confirm details with their plan. Recent change: the Grace's Law amendment signed January 16, 2024 (effective April 15, 2024) strengthened this benefit by removing age and dollar limits.
Federal EPSDT law (42 U.S.C. § 1396d(r)(4)) requires every state — New Jersey included — to cover hearing aids for Medicaid-enrolled children under 21 at no cost to the family. Children under 21 are covered under EPSDT, and Grace's Law's no-cap, one-aid-per-ear-every-24-months rule applies to NJ FamilyCare kids as well. New Jersey's CHIP program is part of NJ FamilyCare — one application covers Medicaid and CHIP (njfamilycare.org or 1-800-701-0710), and children get hearing exams, aids, fittings, and repairs when medically necessary.
Original 2008 law required $1,000 per hearing aid every 24 months for children 15 and younger. The amendment signed January 16, 2024 (effective April 15, 2024 for new and renewing policies) removed the age limit and the $1,000 cap: state-regulated fully insured individual, small-group, and large-group plans and NJ FamilyCare must cover one hearing aid per hearing-impaired ear every 24 months, plus cochlear implants and related parts, attachments, and accessories, with a prescription from a licensed physician or audiologist. The State Health Benefits Plan and School Employees' Health Benefits Plan cover members age 21 and younger at up to $2,500 per hearing aid every 60 months. Self-funded (ERISA) employer plans are exempt.
Statute: Grace's Law, P.L. 2008, c.126, as amended by P.L. 2023, c.275
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.
New Jersey's expanded Grace's Law reaches nearly every carrier a resident meets: state-regulated plans from Horizon, AmeriHealth, Oscar, WellCare/Ambetter, and UnitedHealthcare must cover a hearing aid per ear every 24 months at any age, and all five NJ FamilyCare managed-care plans — Horizon NJ Health, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, Aetna Better Health, Fidelis Care, and Wellpoint — carry the same benefit with no dollar cap.
New Jersey's largest insurer sells GetCoveredNJ marketplace plans and runs Horizon NJ Health, the biggest NJ FamilyCare plan. Its state-regulated plans must follow the expanded Grace's Law: one hearing aid per hearing-impaired ear every 24 months for members of all ages, with no dollar cap.
UnitedHealthcare offers 2026 GetCoveredNJ marketplace plans and serves NJ FamilyCare members through UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, which covers hearing aids under Grace's Law. UHC members typically access hearing aids and hearing care through the UnitedHealthcare Hearing program; allowances on Medicare Advantage plans vary by plan.
Aetna exited New Jersey's individual marketplace at the end of 2025, but Aetna Better Health of New Jersey remains one of the five NJ FamilyCare managed-care plans, where members of all ages are eligible for a hearing aid per ear every 24 months with no monetary cap. Aetna also sells Medicare Advantage plans in NJ; hearing extras vary by plan.
A major GetCoveredNJ marketplace carrier for 2026. As a state-regulated New Jersey insurer, its fully insured plans must cover hearing aids under Grace's Law — one per ear every 24 months at any age, plus cochlear implants and related parts, with a prescription from a licensed physician or audiologist.
Centene sells 2026 GetCoveredNJ marketplace plans under the WellCare/Ambetter brand, and its Fidelis Care plan is one of the five NJ FamilyCare managed-care organizations. Both sides of the business are subject to Grace's Law hearing aid coverage.
One of the five insurers offering 2026 individual plans on GetCoveredNJ. As a state-regulated plan it must cover one hearing aid per hearing-impaired ear every 24 months under the amended Grace's Law.
Yes — and generously. NJ FamilyCare members of all ages are eligible for one hearing aid (or cochlear implant) per ear every 24 months with no dollar cap, thanks to the 2024 Grace's Law expansion. You'll need a prescription from a licensed physician or audiologist, and for adults 21+, a physician or advanced practice nurse must first determine that an audiological exam is medically necessary. Your benefits come through one of five managed-care plans — Horizon NJ Health, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, Aetna Better Health, Fidelis Care, or Wellpoint — so call your plan to confirm the steps.
Yes, for most plans. Grace's Law, expanded effective April 15, 2024, requires state-regulated individual, small-group, and large-group plans — plus NJ FamilyCare — to cover one hearing aid per hearing-impaired ear every 24 months, with no age limit and no dollar cap. The old rules (children 15 and under, $1,000 cap) are gone. Cochlear implants and related parts and accessories are covered too, with a prescription from a licensed physician or audiologist. The main exception is self-funded employer (ERISA) plans; the State Health Benefits Plan covers members 21 and younger at up to $2,500 per aid every 60 months.
If you qualify for NJ FamilyCare, hearing aids are fully covered every 24 months with no cap — and New Jersey stacks up better than almost anywhere from there. If you're 65 or older, or on Social Security Disability, with modest income, the Hearing Aid Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (HAAAD) program can reimburse you $500 per hearing aid — on top of other coverage. The DDHH Equipment Distribution Program provides assistive devices, and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services can help pay for hearing aids you need for work. Private insurance must also cover an aid per ear every 24 months under Grace's Law.
Grace's Law is New Jersey's hearing aid insurance mandate, originally passed in 2008 to guarantee children 15 and younger $1,000 per hearing aid every 24 months. A landmark amendment signed January 16, 2024 (effective April 15, 2024) removed both limits: state-regulated plans and NJ FamilyCare must now cover one hearing aid per hearing-impaired ear every 24 months for people of all ages, with no dollar cap, plus cochlear implants and related parts and accessories. If your plan is fully insured in NJ — from carriers like Horizon, AmeriHealth, Oscar, WellCare/Ambetter, or UnitedHealthcare — this law protects you.
The good news is you can't really pick wrong on the benefit itself: all five NJ FamilyCare managed-care plans — Horizon NJ Health, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, Aetna Better Health, Fidelis Care, and Wellpoint (formerly Amerigroup) — must provide a hearing aid per ear every 24 months with no monetary cap under Grace's Law. What differs is the details: provider networks of audiologists, prior-authorization processes, and how benefit administration is handled can vary by plan. If you already have an audiologist you trust, call the plans and ask whether that provider is in network before choosing.
While you sort out coverage, the Hearing Buddy app gives you live captions on your phone — free, instantly.