South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

H 3342 — Hearing aids

Last action — Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced December 05, 2024. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Stalled 16% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    2 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 38-71-48 SO AS TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS, TO REQUIRE ALL HEALTH INSURANCE AND GROUP HEALTH BENEFIT PLANS TO COVER HEARING AIDS AND REPLACEMENT HEARING AIDS FOR INSUREDS WITH IMPAIRED HEARING, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE SCOPE OF COVERAGE, AMONG OTHER THINGS.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

78 added · 4 removed

Plain-language change summary

The updated version of Bill H 3342 now includes a provision that mandates health insurance plans in South Carolina to cover hearing aids and their replacements for individuals with hearing impairments. This change is significant because it expands access to essential medical devices for those who need them, potentially improving the quality of life for many residents suffering from hearing loss. Additionally, the bill defines key terms related to hearing aids and specifies what qualifies for coverage, which helps clarify the law and ensures that beneficiaries understand their rights.

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2025-2026 Bill 3342 Text of Previous Version (Dec.
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06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 3342Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates New Matter(Text matches printed bills.
Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)                 A bill   TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 38-71-48 SO AS TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS, TO REQUIRE ALL HEALTH INSURANCE AND GROUP HEALTH BENEFIT PLANS TO COVER HEARING AIDS AND REPLACEMENT HEARING AIDS FOR INSUREDS WITH IMPAIRED HEARING, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE SCOPE OF COVERAGE, AMONG OTHER THINGS.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Article 1, Chapter 71, Title 38 of the S.C.
Code is amended by adding:
      Section 38-71-48.  (A) "Hearing aid" means any nonexperimental and wearable instrument or device designed for the ear and offered to aid or compensate for impaired human hearing, including any parts, ear molds, repair parts, and replacement parts of this instrument or device.
"Hearing aid" excludes batteries, cords, personal sound amplification products, and other assistive listening devices.
       (2) "Audiologist" means an individual licensed to practice audiology in this State pursuant to Chapter 67, Title 40.
       (3) "Insurer" means an insurance company, a health maintenance organization, and any other entity that provides health insurance coverage as defined in Section 38-71-670(6), is licensed to engage in the business of insurance in this State, and is subject to state insurance regulation.
       (4) "Health maintenance organization" means an organization as defined in Section 38-33-20(8).
       (5) "Health insurance plan" means a group health insurance policy or group health benefit plan offered by an insurer, including the State Health Plan.
       (6) "State Health Plan" means the employee and retiree insurance program provided in Article 5, Chapter 11, Title 1.
       (7) "Department" means the Department of Insurance.
    (B) All health insurance plans offered by individual and group health and health management organizations, including the State Health Plan, must provide coverage for the billed charges of one hearing aid per hearing impaired ear for an individual covered under a policy, contract, or certificate in accordance with the following:
       (1) The department shall set and promulgate minimum coverage rates and coverage limits for adult and child hearing aids for each hearing-impaired ear.
       (2) At a minimum, the department must provide rates that would provide coverage for the billed charges of reasonable and customary hearing aids.
       (3) Every two years the department must compile and promulgate an approved list of audiologists and hearing aid dealers licensed in this State who will provide hearing aids as mandated in this section.
       (4) To be eligible for coverage under a health insurance plan, hearing loss in each impaired ear must be documented by a physician or audiologist licensed in this State.
    (C) A health insurance plan may not deny or refuse coverage on, refuse to contract with, or refuse to renew or refuse to reissue or otherwise terminate or restrict coverage on a covered individual solely because he is or has been previously diagnosed with hearing loss.
    (D) A covered insured may select a hearing aid or aids costing more than the amount promulgated by the department in subsection (B), so long as the covered insured pays the difference between the price of the selected hearing aids or aid and the limit in subsection (B), without any financial or contractual penalty to the covered insured or to the provider of the hearing aid.
    (E) The requirements of this section apply to all policies, contracts, and certificates executed, delivered, issued, continued, or renewed in this State on or after the effective date of this section.
  SECTION 2.  This act takes effect July 1, 2025, and applies to health insurance plans issued, renewed, delivered, or entered into on or after the effective date of this act.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on December 06, 2024 at 11:36 AM
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Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry

  2. Introduced and read first time

  3. Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry

  4. Prefiled

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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2 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 168 not signed on

Sponsors (2)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (168)

168 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 168 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

healthcare health-insurance
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does H 3342 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 38-71-48 SO AS TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS, TO REQUIRE ALL HEALTH INSURANCE AND GROUP HEALTH BENEFIT PLANS TO COVER HEARING AIDS AND REPLACEMENT HEARING AIDS FOR INSUREDS WITH IMPAIRED HEARING, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE SCOPE OF COVERAGE, AMONG OTHER THINGS.
Who sponsors H 3342?
H 3342 is sponsored by Representative Kambrell H. Garvin and Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter.
What is the current status of H 3342?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced December 05, 2024. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track H 3342?
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