EqualityCare inquiry
I sent an inquiry to the Wyoming EqualityCare about their coverage for cochlear implants last Friday... Today I got a response from them.Dear Client,This correspondence is in response to your recent Ask EqualityCare submission. Wyoming EqualityCare records indicate that the prior authorization for cochlear implants was denied as the client is able to communicate through speech. In order for a prior authorization to be approved for clients over the age of 21, the client must be unable to communicate through speech or other means to make their medical or basic needs known. The documentation that was submitted to Wyoming EqualityCare states that this is not

Medicaid's reasoning...
Just got a reply back from Rocky Mountain Ear Center on why Medicaid/Wyoming EqualityCare denied the cochlear implant."Equality care is stating that DOES NOT MEET CRITERIA: PATIENT ABLE TO COMMUNICATE THRU SPEECH."Um... how messed up is that? So I have good speech and I communicate orally, that doesn't mean I shouldn't get an implant. If only they could actually SEE how I function with the little hearing I've got in the right ear. I can't even understand my own MOTHER without facing her. I have to lipread everyone in order to make sense of what they're saying, I need subtitles/captions on at all times, I need all the visual support I can get! I can barely use the phone the

Denied...
Medicaid has denied the cochlear implant request. Rocky Mountain Cochlear Implant Center will send the information on to OMS Insurance Support, and OMS will appeal, and hopefully work their magic. I might even get in contact with the Let Them Hear Foundation and see if they can be of any support as well.Edit: LTHF is currently not accepting any appeal requests, so I'll just have to rely on OMS at this time. That's fine with me though. Also contacted Advanced Bionic's insurance support as well, to see if they could be of any help.

now I'm a bit torn...
With the news of the new Cochlear Nucleus 5 device now out on the market, I read up on the info for the new device... and now I'm a bit torn as to which implant I would choose for myself. For the last few years I've been thinking Advanced Bionic's Harmony, for sure! I like the design of their BTE processor, and of the speech processing strategies they offer. But now with the new Nucleus 5 out, just the thinner BTE processor appeals to me. The thinner internal implant is nice too, and the processor is also made of titanium and such. Hm. I don't know! I've already shot off a couple of emails, and have requested an information packet from Cochlear about the Nucleus 5. And I plan on comparing