Sound Partnership January 2009

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We will take care of your patients for a lifetime. 
For over 25 years, 7 out of 10 candidates have chosen Cochlear.  

Clinic-to-Clinic Tip

Jeanne Coburn at Baystate Rehabilitation Care in Springfield MA provided this tip:

"Patients can carry their CDX file with them as they travel if they bring a USB flash drive to their appointments.  After the programming session is completed, export their file to the flash drive.  Then if any problems crop up while they are traveling, away at school, or have moved to a new location, they can contact the local cochlear implant center and have their file uploaded into the local center's database.  I also give them my business card with their program numbers and corresponding slots, in case additional information is needed."

Thank you for this great tip Jeanne.  If you have a tip you would like to share with your colleagues, please e-mail to awollan@cochlear.com

Tips for Approaching Insurance Payers

When contacting an insurance company to determine if coverage is available for your patient’s cochlear implant or Baha procedure, we recommend the following:

  • Do not use the words “hearing aid” but rather stress that it is a prosthetic device.
  • Be aware of the payer’s policy for the procedure and be sure to submit documentation with your request, such as patient history, audiograms, results of CT scans and a letter of medical necessity. 
  • For Baha, do not use the acronym BAHA as it is interpreted to stand for bone anchored hearing aid.  Use Baha since it is the brand name, not the name of the device.  Always refer to auditory osseointegrated implant when referring to the device.
  • If denied, appeal the denial until all appeal options are exhausted.
  • Involve the patient as much as possible to help appeal any denials.

For assistance or questions, contact Cochlear Americas' OMS Insurance Support. OMS can assist you by submitting pre-determination request to the insurance company and appeal denials.

Contact the OMS Team at 1-800-633-4667, option 4 or e-mail at reimbursement@cochlear.com

Thank you for reading and your continued support,

Cochlear