Expanded Coverage of Cochlear Implants for Children

Effective September 1, 2024, UnitedHealthcare will provide coverage of cochlear implants for children six months and older for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and for children nine months and older with single-sided deafness (SSD). This change in their coverage policy comes after the review of data and expert input, as well as advocacy by stakeholder groups to ensure that children who could be candidates have access to cochlear implants. The UnitedHealthcare policy had excluded coverage for children under five years of age even after expanding coverage in 2023 for adults over 18 with SSD.