BOSTON (AP) — A bill aimed at letting Americans buy hearing aids over the counter has been signed into law.
The proposal was pushed by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. It was included in a Food and Drug Administration reauthorization bill signed by President Donald Trump on Friday.
The Massachusetts Democrat says 48 million people have hearing loss, but fewer than one in six gets the devices they need because they’re too expensive.
She said the new law will help reduce regulations and open up the market so the cost of hearing aids could drop. She says some cost thousands of dollars, but under the measure, those prices could drop into the hundreds of dollars.
Democratic Rep. Joe Kennedy also pushed for the new law.
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