Stop government funding for white label hearing aids

When corporate chains fit a white-label device (such as Specsavers 'Advance', Bay Audiology/Amplifon proprietary ranges, or Costco house brands), the underlying software is locked. If a patient becomes dissatisfied with the corporate chain's service, moves to a new town, or wishes to support a local independent clinic, they discover they cannot leave.

Independent clinics possess the clinical skill to help these patients, but we are technologically locked out from adjusting or servicing these white-label devices, or have to jump through multiple hoops requiring several hours of time to beg for access to the software. Any software updates (which happen frequently) are not automatically given to independent clinicians thus making this an ongoing problem. Consequently, the consumer is "locked in" to the corporate provider. This drastically decreases ongoing service quality, eliminates clinical choice, and obliterates fair market competition.