Yes, the Welfare Fund provides a hearing aid benefit which reimburses the member up to a maximum of $1,500 every three years (counted from the date of your last service) for members and their dependents. You can use the Fund’s panel or choose any provider.

As of March 1, 2022, the UFT Welfare Fund will reimburse a maximum of $1,500, which can be used once every three years. If you use a preferred provider, you can receive at least a 25 percent discount on your purchase. If you are a retiree who belongs to SHIP, the Fund will now also process your claim for the SHIP scheduled payment.

Yes, you can ask for a validated certificate under your own name and another one as a dependent of your spouse.

Yes, but there are benefits to using a panel provider. Besides the discounts offered, the Fund requires our panelists to have a licensed audiologist at their facility to ensure quality service.

We suggest that you use the certificate only for a full service, including the hearing aid. If you use the certificate and only get the evaluation, we will pay the evaluation fee, but you will be deemed to have used the entire $1,500 benefit and you will not be eligible for another certificate for three years. Instead, if you pay for the evaluation (and possibly submit the claim to your health plan), you will save the $1,500 benefit and can use it when you are ready to purchase your hearing aid.

Yes, but there are benefits to using a panel provider. Besides the discounts offered, the Welfare Fund requires our panelists to have a licensed audiologist at their facility to ensure quality service.

The best way to save money is to use one of the Welfare Fund's preferred providers, who have agreed to give a 25 percent discount to UFT members and their dependents.

The preferred provider list is available by calling the Welfare Fund hotline at 212-539-0539, or you can download the list from the Welfare Fund website: https://www.uft.org/files/attachments/uftwf-hearing-aid-providers-directory.pdf.

As a service to retired UFT members, the UFT Welfare Fund will process the hearing-aid reimbursement for retirees who are enrolled in the Supplemental Health Insurance Program (SHIP). For more information about SHIP, visit our main SHIP information page. 

You cannot split the certificate by using it first for a checkup and then at a later date to purchase a hearing aid. The Welfare Fund recommends you use your medical benefits for a checkup or evaluation and use the certificate only when you are ready to purchase a hearing aid. That way, you'll get the most value from the certificate.

To take advantage of this benefit, the first thing you should do is order a Hearing Aid Certificate. The fastest way to get a certificate is to go to the Welfare Fund website and request a certificate online for each family member in need of the service. You also can call the UFT Welfare Fund's automated hotline at 212-539-0539.