From the newsroom of The Express-Times, Easton, Pennsylvania, Monday, May 12, 2008 .....    

WASHINGTON | Bill and Jeanine Gleba have health insurance for their whole family, but it does nothing to help with their greatest medical cost.

Hearing aids for their 8-year-old daughter, Grace, run about $7,000 every three years. Insurance doesn't cover them.

"They don't consider it medically necessary. They consider it a luxury item," Jeanine Gleba said.

But for the Glebas, the hearing aids are necessary for Grace to have a normal life. She was born with moderate to severe hearing loss.

Without hearing aids, the third-grade student could only hear sounds as loud as a plane overhead. With them, she can hear everything but some whispers.

"We live in a hearing world -- why should she be denied that opportunity?" Jeanine Gleba said. "That's what kills you about insurance companies -- they pay for Viagra. These are wheelchairs for kids' ears, giving them one of their senses."

The Glebas said they're fortunate to be able to afford the hearing aids, but they know many families that can't. Children that could hear and speak if they had hearing aids are resigned to communicate only through sign language.

The Glebas have long been at the forefront of fighting for insurance coverage of hearing aids. Seven years ago, a state law named for Grace was introduced in the state Legislature. Grace's Law would require insurance companies to cover $1,000 of hearing aid costs every two years for children 15 and under.

Four years ago, Grace's Law passed the state Assembly, but the state Senate did not bring it up for consideration. Both an Assembly and Senate committee have passed the bill this year. Jeanine Gleba considers that progress.

"I never in a million years imagined we would still be here," she said. "Unfortunately it becomes a political budget thing, Republicans versus Democrats. Why kids became a line on a budget is beyond me."

Increased costs from the bill's enactment would be minimal, Jeanine Gleba said. The state Mandated Health Benefits Advisory Commission conducted a financial impact study on Grace's Law and determined it would raise health insurance premiums 20 cents a month on average.

State Sen. Leonard Lance, a bill co-sponsor, said he believes it would save money in the long run by allowing more children to hear and speak.

"It will lead to adults that will be much more productive in society," said Lance, R-Warren/Hunterdon.

The Glebas travel to Trenton a couple of times a year to testify in support of the bill. Grace has also testified. Last month, she and her classmates at St. Mary's School in Hackettstown wrote letters to state officials asking them to support the bill.

"Just think about not being able to hear," Grace wrote in her letter to Gov. Jon S. Corzine. "Some things we can't hear: birds chirping, a cat meowing and especially hearing a mom say 'I love you.'"

Reporter Lynn Olanoff can be reached at 908-475-8044 or by e-mail at lolanoff@express-times.com.

© 2008  The Express Times

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