Free resource from the American Cochlear Implant Alliance explains Medicaid financing, walks through upcoming OBBBA-driven policy changes, and gives clinicians, patient advocates, and state champions ready-to-use tools for protecting hearing health care coverage.
WHAT: The ACI Alliance Medicaid Toolkit, a free, six-module online guide to Medicaid coverage for cochlear implants — covering how Medicaid financing works, why it is critical to hearing health care, what the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) changes mean for patients, provider billing and appeals strategies, and step-by-step advocacy guidance for engaging state policymakers.
WHY IT MATTERS: Medicaid covers more than 70 million Americans and nearly half of all children nationwide and is often the deciding factor in whether a child or adult can access cochlear implant care. Analysts project the OBBBA could cut up to $1 trillion in Medicaid funding over the next decade through new work requirements, more frequent eligibility checks, provider tax phase-downs, and other changes beginning as early as December 2026 — putting continuity of hearing health care coverage at risk for vulnerable families.
WHO IT'S FOR: Audiologists, CI surgeons, speech-language pathologists, patient navigators, hospital reimbursement teams, parent and adult CI-user advocates, and state policy champions.
KEY TOPICS COVERED: How Medicaid financing and the federal match (FMAP) work • Medicaid's role in pediatric and adult hearing health care • A module-by-module breakdown of OBBBA provisions and effective dates • Billing, coding, and appeals workflows for clinics • A five-step guide to state-level advocacy • How to connect with ACI Alliance for advocacy support.
AVAILABILITY: The toolkit is available now, free of charge, at Advocacy Toolkit - American Cochlear Implant Alliance
