Hearing aids

New material codes for hearing aids were added to the List of reimbursable devices of the Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI-RIZIV) in August 2019.

At the end of April of 2019, the NHS England has announced the start of routine commissioning of pioneering brain surgery in two UK hospitals. The highly complex procedure involves inserting a device directly into the brain to stimulate hearing pathways, bypassing the cochlea and auditory nerve that have not developed properly. About 15 children per year would be assessed for auditory brainstem implantation, and about nine would go on to have the surgery, which costs around £60,000 per patient.

On February 19, 2019, the Nomenclature was updated. The update brought changes in chapter V and VI of Nomenclature, regarding the creation of new codes for laser destruction of congenital port-wine stains, hearing aids and cone beam computed tomography.

In mid-November, 2018, the Catalan Agency for Quality and Healthcare Evaluation, AQuAS, published their evaluation of bilateral cochlear implants in children and adults. The authors provided a list of criteria a patient has to fulfil in order to have a cochlear implant prescribed.

The French National Authority for Health (HAS) regularly publishes new decisions about add-on reimbursement for medical devices. The decisions made in the period July-September 2018 concern various types of devices. In total, 52 decisions were published.

During the last meeting of the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System in Spain (end of April) three decisions about coverage or new services or indications in the National Benefit Catalogue were announced. They concern hearing aids, micropigmentation of the nipples and continuous glucose monitoring. The changes are still due to be formalized in a form of a Royal Decree.