A plea for legislation to require insurance companies to cover the costs of hearing aids or cochlear implants for young children fell on deaf ears in the Assembly last night.
The bill was not on Tuesday's calendar, but Democrats attempted to bring it to a vote, a move blocked by the GOP. "The Republican leadership has refused to schedule SB 88, the bill that would require insurance companies to cover cochlear implants and hearing aids for children," said Madison Democrat Joe Parisi. The bill has already passed the Senate, and Parisi said there were enough Assembly votes to pass the measure there as well — if it got to the floor. It didn't, and afterwards, Wisconsin Rapids Democrat Marlin Schneider gave Republicans another earful. "Shame on you," said Schneider. "I hope our sleepy time press corps has paid attention to this one, and that vote from the party of family values."
The bill would have required health insurance policies and plans to cover the cost of hearing aids or cochlear implants for kids under five years of age.
