SHHH/Cape Cod Advocacy

"Action without Vision just passes time.
Vision without Action is just a dream.
Vision with Action can change the World."

Legislation on the state level: Insurance coverage for hearing aids in Mass.

• 2005 Update from Jay Kuhlow in Senator Brewster's office: Massachusetts State Senator Steven Brewer has refiled the health insurance coverage for hearing aids bill for the new legislative session which began on January 5, 2005. The bill is currently known as Senate Docket 1526. It will be assigned a bill number within the next few weeks and then will be referred to a committee for review. Senator Brewer is committed to this bill and will remain diligent in his advocacy of it over the weeks and months to come. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance in the future. Contact Jay Kuhlow or your state senator for information. Paul Gambina at Deaf Inc. is part of the consortium working on this. Contact him at pgambina@deafinconline.org or call (508)947-5402.

Address for Senator Brewer is: Senator Stephen M. Brewer, State House, Boston, MA 02133

2007: Senate Bill 589 has made no progress.

Legislation on the national level: Hearing Aid Tax Credit Act

Hearing Aid Tax Credit reintroduced in House July 2007 (Jim Ryun originally introduced the idea in 2003) Reps. Carolyn McCarthy (D-New York) and Vernon Ehlers (R-Michigan) with 21 House members introduced H.R. 2329, the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act, which would provide a tax credit of $500 per hearing aid every five years for seniors 55 and older and for dependents of taxpayers. Although H.R. 2329 will not cover the entire cost of hearing aids, the tax credit provides some financial relief to those in need of the devices. The bill was introduced in May during Better Hearing and Speech Month. Ten million older Americans have age-related hearing loss. A study by the National Council on Aging shows that, left untreated, hearing loss often results in distorted communication, isolation, withdrawal, depression, anger, and severely reduced overall psychological health, in addition to an average loss of income per household of up to $12,000 per year. Details at Hearing Loss Association and thomas.loc.gov

Bills won't pass without co-sponsors. Contact your legislators!

Movie Theaters

There are over 60 movie theaters on the Cape. The Cape Cinema in Dennis sometimes shows subtitled international films. Most people find that the headphone setup in other theaters is usually not turned on, or the headphones are not functioning. Don't they ever test out that equipment?

Rear window captioning from WGBH or open captions from Insight Cinema are other formats.

• Regal Entertainment Group controls 2/3 of the screens on the Cape, and since the late spring have been showing open captioned movies at one screen in the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis. You should go and tell the management why you are there!

The Coalition for Movie Captioning www.hearinglossweb.com

We believe individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing and late-deafened should have the same freedom as anyone else:

- To attend any showing of any movie in any theater at any time;

- To be seated anywhere within the theater with their family and friends;

- To receive equal access to the audible portions of the movie through high quality captioning;

- To be guaranteed that the presentation of captioning is consistently reliable.

Airports

We are continuing to advocate for visual information directly with airlines and through a coalition of national consumer organizations working with the Department of Transportation to review and strengthen the requirements of the Air Carrier Access Act with regard to travelers with hearing loss. Just a reminder. When you travel by air and the service is not accessible to you be sure to send in a complaint to the airline - all of them have consumer complaint sections on their websites. Also send in your complaint to the Department of Transportation. They collect complaints and pass them along to the airlines to resolve. They also monitor all complaints to see how many from each disability is received each month. There are many, many complaints from wheelchair users but very few from people with hearing loss.

To send a complaint to the Department of Transportation (DOT) go to http://AirConsumer.ost.dot.gov/ Or call the DOT hotline at 866-266-1368 COMPLAINT RESOLUTION OFFICERS Do you know about COMPLAINT RESOLUTION OFFICERS (CROs)? Each airline has CROs available at the airport to immediately respond in person to your concerns about accessible air travel. They are trained in the Air Carrier Access law and should know how to respond to your requests for accessible service. Take time to ask to see a CRO when traveling and you are dissatisfied with the service.

Brenda Battat Director of Public Policy & State Development,SHHH

Recycling

Hearing Aids

The Lions Club collects and refurbishes used hearing aids as well as glasses. Club members also have access to excellent quality, inexpensive hearing aids. There is a collection box at the Dennis Public Library.

Aluminum Doors and Windows

The Kiwanis Club collects them to sell for scrap and fund their projects.

		ADVOCACY
:: Advocacy :: News Web Links Contact HOME	"Action without Vision just passes time. Vision without Action is just a dream. Vision with Action can change the World." Legislation on the state level: Insurance coverage for hearing aids in Mass. • 2005 Update from Jay Kuhlow in Senator Brewster's office: Massachusetts State Senator Steven Brewer has refiled the health insurance coverage for hearing aids bill for the new legislative session which began on January 5, 2005. The bill is currently known as Senate Docket 1526. It will be assigned a bill number within the next few weeks and then will be referred to a committee for review. Senator Brewer is committed to this bill and will remain diligent in his advocacy of it over the weeks and months to come. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance in the future. Contact Jay Kuhlow or your state senator for information. Paul Gambina at Deaf Inc. is part of the consortium working on this. Contact him at pgambina@deafinconline.org or call (508)947-5402. Address for Senator Brewer is: Senator Stephen M. Brewer, State House, Boston, MA 02133 2007: Senate Bill 589 has made no progress. Legislation on the national level: Hearing Aid Tax Credit Act Hearing Aid Tax Credit reintroduced in House July 2007 (Jim Ryun originally introduced the idea in 2003) Reps. Carolyn McCarthy (D-New York) and Vernon Ehlers (R-Michigan) with 21 House members introduced H.R. 2329, the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act, which would provide a tax credit of $500 per hearing aid every five years for seniors 55 and older and for dependents of taxpayers. Although H.R. 2329 will not cover the entire cost of hearing aids, the tax credit provides some financial relief to those in need of the devices. The bill was introduced in May during Better Hearing and Speech Month. Ten million older Americans have age-related hearing loss. A study by the National Council on Aging shows that, left untreated, hearing loss often results in distorted communication, isolation, withdrawal, depression, anger, and severely reduced overall psychological health, in addition to an average loss of income per household of up to $12,000 per year. Details at Hearing Loss Association and thomas.loc.gov Bills won't pass without co-sponsors. Contact your legislators! Movie Theaters There are over 60 movie theaters on the Cape. The Cape Cinema in Dennis sometimes shows subtitled international films. Most people find that the headphone setup in other theaters is usually not turned on, or the headphones are not functioning. Don't they ever test out that equipment? Rear window captioning from WGBH or open captions from Insight Cinema are other formats. • Regal Entertainment Group controls 2/3 of the screens on the Cape, and since the late spring have been showing open captioned movies at one screen in the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis. You should go and tell the management why you are there! The Coalition for Movie Captioning www.hearinglossweb.com We believe individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing and late-deafened should have the same freedom as anyone else: - To attend any showing of any movie in any theater at any time; - To be seated anywhere within the theater with their family and friends; - To receive equal access to the audible portions of the movie through high quality captioning; - To be guaranteed that the presentation of captioning is consistently reliable. Airports We are continuing to advocate for visual information directly with airlines and through a coalition of national consumer organizations working with the Department of Transportation to review and strengthen the requirements of the Air Carrier Access Act with regard to travelers with hearing loss. Just a reminder. When you travel by air and the service is not accessible to you be sure to send in a complaint to the airline - all of them have consumer complaint sections on their websites. Also send in your complaint to the Department of Transportation. They collect complaints and pass them along to the airlines to resolve. They also monitor all complaints to see how many from each disability is received each month. There are many, many complaints from wheelchair users but very few from people with hearing loss. To send a complaint to the Department of Transportation (DOT) go to http://AirConsumer.ost.dot.gov/ Or call the DOT hotline at 866-266-1368 COMPLAINT RESOLUTION OFFICERS Do you know about COMPLAINT RESOLUTION OFFICERS (CROs)? Each airline has CROs available at the airport to immediately respond in person to your concerns about accessible air travel. They are trained in the Air Carrier Access law and should know how to respond to your requests for accessible service. Take time to ask to see a CRO when traveling and you are dissatisfied with the service. Brenda Battat Director of Public Policy & State Development,SHHH Recycling Hearing Aids The Lions Club collects and refurbishes used hearing aids as well as glasses. Club members also have access to excellent quality, inexpensive hearing aids. There is a collection box at the Dennis Public Library. Aluminum Doors and Windows The Kiwanis Club collects them to sell for scrap and fund their projects.


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