Third-grader inspires legislation to help those with hearing loss
At just 9 years old, Ally Tumblin has inspired legislation in Congress that could help thousands of Americans pay for hearing aid devices by mandating insurance companies to cover them.
It all started in 2019 with a simple letter to her elected official after the then third-grader was assigned to do something to better her community for class. She decided to write to her congressman, Rep. Joe Neguse, a Colorado Democrat, about her struggle to hear and how important her BAHA was, a bone-anchored hearing aid that’s used to treat hearing loss. It’s an implantable device that most insurance companies do not cover and can cost up to $10,000.
9-year-old Broomfield girl inspires legislation for people with hearing loss
Third-grader Ally Tumblin s letter inspired Congressman Joe Neguse to introduce Ally s Act, a bill that will require insurance companies to cover hearing devices. Author: Lori Lizarraga Updated: 7:59 PM MST February 1, 2021
BROOMFIELD, Colo. When a 9-year-old Broomfield girl, born without her right ear and ear canal, wrote a letter to her congressman in 2019, she and her mother didn t think they would even get a response.
But young Ally Tumblin s letter inspired Congressman Joe Neguse to introduce a bill that would require insurance companies to cover hearing devices for children like Ally, all over the country.
Congressman
Joe Neguse, announced the reintroduction of Ally s Act, his bicameral, bipartisan legislation to require private insurance companies to cover osseointegrated hearing devices ( OIDs ), including bone anchored hearing aids ( BAHA ) and cochlear implants. The bill was inspired by Ally, an 11-year-old from
Broomfield, Colorado, who was born without a right ear or hearing canal and therefore requires the use of a BAHA. After Ally s insurance company denied coverage of her hearing device, her mother Melissa formed the organization
Ear Community to help advocate for insurance coverage of these devices to ensure no person is left unable to hear because of private insurance companies refusal to provide coverage.