France's fledgling hearing aid reimbursement system hits snags

Underlining just how essential it is for states to settle on a functional system for providing hearing health benefits, French audiology practices are now hit by the impact of a domino effect triggered by fraud...in turn, argue many, the result of the reimbursement method itself being flawed. It was a long time coming, but in 2019 new subsidies were finally introduced within the French public health system that included 100% cover for hearing aids, with no out-of-pocket expenses. Under the new system, audiologists who provide a hearing aid free to a patient do so within a universal health protection system (L'Assurance Maladie) that is enshrined within the state social security system. But no sooner had the new scheme started than hearing aids became the sector most hit by fraud. Scammers took advantage of flaws in the reimbursement system for several years, among other things...