|
Dear Tucson Audiologists' Readers,
We had an interesting month at TAI -- our patients were happy, nobody lost a hearing aid, and we would have been happy had it not been for Cigna Insurance. Readers be forewarned before proceeding -- this is NOT a Christmas story.
Sharon spent 3.5 months trying to convince Cigna that Medicare does not cover hearing aids. Don't get the wrong impression -- it's not as if Cigna wanted to get Medicare to change its policies and start covering hearing aids. No, it's because our patient's unique policy called for Cigna to pay 100% of his hearing aid costs. Cigna preferred not to pay, insisting instead that his claim had to go to Medicare. Sharon swears she developed high blood pressure from talking to Cigna representatives and now we're worried she's going to file a Worker's Comp case against us. Sharon finally found a responsible supervisor who said -- and this is a quote -- "Why would you send the claim to Medicare? That's stupid. They don't pay for hearing aids." No kidding. Cigna gave up and paid. And people wonder why the costs of health care keep rising! Merry Christmas.
And speaking of Christmas, here is the first item on Gael Hannan's Christmas List , which you can read in its entirety by click on the link. Her list makes for great reading for those with hearing loss and those who live with them.
-
One: At Christmas Eve dinner, we have 12 people sitting at the long oak table. It’s beautiful, but I have difficulty following the conversation with its chaotic, overlapping snippets of talk. And I don’t care if the chit-chat is trivial, that’s part of the fun! I want to choose what’s worth listening to and I don’t want my conversation limited to the person sitting beside me.
-
So, could you bring me a round dining table, so I can see and communicate with everyone? If a round table won’t fit on the sleigh, could you bring my husband a band saw and some industrial glue? We’ll cut off the corners, round-off the edges, and create a big, beautiful, communication-rich table!
Have a wonderful holiday season. Try to keep your blood pressure down by avoiding fatty foods and health insurance companies!. Scroll on down for the Best of the blogs.
Your Tucson Audiologists,
Holly Hosford-Dunn and Sharon K Hopkins
|
