Buying a hearing aid is made difficult by a lack of information, too little choice and uncertainty about the reimbursement.
This is stated by the Consumers’ Association after research. The association believes that the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) should address hearing care professionals, manufacturers and health insurers and ensure “the much-needed transparency”.
Consumers often indicated that they had little or no choice in types and brands within the assigned category of hearing aids, which matched their degree of hearing loss. This problem mainly occurs in the chains Beter Horen, Specsavers, Schoonenberg, Van Boxtel and Hans Anders.
In addition, information about prices is lacking on the websites of most hearing care chains, the Consumers’ Association concludes. It also varies per insurer exactly how much extra consumers have to pay.
Sandra Molenaar, director of the Consumers’ Association, finds the purchasing process complicated and opaque. “The interests of consumers are subordinate to the commercial interests of hearing care professionals, manufacturers and insurers,” she explains. “This is at odds with the Health Insurance Act. That is why we call on the NZa to put an end to this chaos as quickly as possible.”
Consumers who want to buy a hearing aid are dependent on five large chains and more than three hundred smaller and independent hearing care professionals. The Hearing Protocol helps determine the hearing loss and the appropriate category of hearing aids. Basic insurance reimburses most of the costs in the first five categories.
Anyone who buys a device from a different category often has to pay the entire amount themselves. This includes the latest hearing aids with the most advanced technology. According to the Consumers’ Association, sellers pay a lot of attention to these hearing aids on their websites, with prices up to 5,000 euros.
