by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
The CaptionCall phone is one of my favorite phones. They used to be free to qualified hard of hearing people. Then, in October, 2013, the FCC stepped in and said that too many were being given to non-qualified people, and it was depleting the federally-funded captioning fund. As a result, they slapped a minimum price tag of $75.00 on these phones.
CaptionCall filed a “Stay Request” in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. This was granted until the case is decided by the courts this summer (2014).
Therefore, until this case is decided one way or the other, you can once again get a CaptionCall phone free of charge if you don’t already have one. (Note 1: there are no monthly charges and no hidden costs for this service. Note 2: You must be a resident of the USA to take advantage of this offer.)
The “catch” this time is that you have to have a form signed by a qualified health care professional declaring that you have a hearing loss that requires a captioned phone.
The following professionals are permitted to sign this form: audiologists and hearing instrument specialists (hearing aid dispensers); ENT doctors, family physicians and GPs (general practitioners; specialists in gerontology, pediatrics and internal medicine; physician’s assistants (PA) and nurse practitioners (NP).
If you want to take advantage of this free phone offer, follow the instructions in my revised article here.
How much will the phone add to my att phone bill ?
Hi Carolyn:
Using captioned phones doesn’t cost you anything extra. All landline phones are assessed a fee on the phone bill each month to pay for this. Currently it is $1.14 per line.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, We are Florida Guide Dogs for the Deaf located in Bradenton, FL. We need a Captioncall phone to serve our hearing impaired clients. Thank you
Hi There:
I don’t know whether you are eligible for a free captioned phone since you are not hard of hearing yourself. But you can order one and pay the $75.00 fee. I’d go to the CaptionCall website at https://captioncall.com/ and ask them what the rules are in your case.
Cordially,
Neil
Do I need to get a paper from the hearing specialist of what kind of documentation do you require? This is for my mom.
Hi Lori:
You need the proper form signed by a medical professional that certifies that you have a significant hearing loss so you need a captioned phone. The person signing the form could be a hearing aid dispenser, audiologist, doctor, nurse or social worker.
Cordially,
Neil
What if we do not have a landline?
Hi Diane:
If you want to receive captioning on your cell phone, there are at least 3 Apps that provide captioning for phone calls. One is called “CaptionCall”. Another is “InnoCaption”. A third is “ClearCaptions”. I have these on my iPhone. I assume you that get them also on Android phones too.
Cordially,
Neil