Does Medicare pay for Processor upgrades after 5 years?

[Dianna]

Thank you mary. I believe for my daily use it will be great. I dont feel a difference between audiostream and regular cover, only if i wear a hat all day im a little sore on the head, not the ear. but i prefer rechargeables around the house. I like the idea! My eas plug holds it all on anyway.

Im glad they are working for you!!!

[Serena Metzler]

27 minutes ago, Mary Featherston said:

@Dianna I am currently trying out the new max batteries.  They're longer than the standard rechargeables but once I have the processors on my ears I can't tell the difference - they probably are a bit heavier than the regular batteries but it's not discernable to me.

Yes the hearing battery are better than the rechargeable battery because the rechargeable battery only 8hours and the batteries are 16hours,I learned this the hard way I hope 🤞🤞🤞🙏♥️🙏♥️🙏♥️🙏 will help. 

[Mary Featherston]

@Serena Metzler I dislike disposable batteries.  I dislike disposable anything, really.  So I've only used disposable batteries with my CIs when I was camping and didn't have the little solar charger that I have now.  It doesn't bother me at all to carry extra batteries and change them out.  I change them in meeting, I change them in restaurants, I change them in the car.  It's easy and fast and I just recharge them all each night and it's fine for me.

But the max batteries are nice, I got 15 hours the other day.

[Serena Metzler]

2 hours ago, Mary Featherston said:

@Serena Metzler I dislike disposable batteries.  I dislike disposable anything, really.  So I've only used disposable batteries with my CIs when I was camping and didn't have the little solar charger that I have now.  It doesn't bother me at all to carry extra batteries and change them out.  I change them in meeting, I change them in restaurants, I change them in the car.  It's easy and fast and I just recharge them all each night and it's fine for me.

But the max batteries are nice, I got 15 hours the other day.

Me I like hearing aids Cochlear implant battery better 

[Dianna]

I use both! I dont get batteries from insurance (we are going to re check this) so i use rechargables nearly all the time.

Plus, those buggers add up! I dont like them unless they can be totally recycled!

[Shirsee]

I could use some help please. I may need to start a new post if this one isn't being watched much anymore. I've had a Sonnet 1 EAS for 5 years and my audiologist at UNC told me I was eligible for an upgrade to the Sonnet 2 EAS. I thought that sounded great and asked her to go ahead with the request. I don't know what exact process she went through to do that. I'm a retired state employee in NC and have the Humana Medicare Enhanced plan. I tell you that in hopes that someone out there has the same plan and situation as me. My audiologist never mentioned that this would involve a large co-pay from me. I got a call from Med-El yesterday, and they told me I had been approved for the upgrade but I would owe them $1,725. I was taken by total surprise. I called the Insurance dept. at Med-El and they said Medicare would pay 80% of the cost but the rest was on me. Med-El also said they hadn't filed the claim yet but they wanted me to go ahead and pay the $1,725 before they would ship the upgrade to my audiologist. I wanted to upgrade to the Sonnet 2 because it is supposed to be better for hearing in a noisy environment. If you were in my shoes, what would be your next step? I have some related questions I'll list below.

1.  Would Med-El have had to receive a letter from my physician stating my need for this upgrade before they would approve it? Would Medicare wave my co-pay if they had a letter from my doctor stating my need for this upgrade?

2. Does the Sonnet 2 do much better in noisy environments compared to the Sonnet 1? How else is it better about it?

3. If it is going to cost me this much to upgrade, should I just wait for the next upgrade to occur?

 

[Mary Beth]

@Shirsee

Did Med-El mention what your Medicare supplement would pay?

@Joan upgraded with Medicare and her supplemental insurance a couple of years ago.

@Mary Jo Strickland recently found out that she would have a charge as well.

[Shirsee]

Hi Mary Beth,

Med-El said Medicare would pay 80%. They also said the Sonnet 2 would cost approximately $10,000 without insurance. I'll see if I can message Mary Jo about this. I'm just really bummed that I probably won't be getting this new processor after all. I'd have to be convinced that it would make a world of difference for me especially since they might come out with another upgrade in the not too distant future.

 

[Joan]

@Shirsee @Mary Beth I’m covered by Original Medicare as my primary coverage, with a Blue Cross supplement to Medicare secondary coverage, and yes, between the two the full cost of my upgrade was covered. However, the parameters for coverage and copays differ for Medicare Advantage Plans. 

[Mary Beth]

@Shirsee

The Sonnet2 was released by Med-El 3 years ago.  There is no information about when the next processor will be released.

Sonnet2 has a newer, faster computer chip than Sonnet1 so it can filter sound/noise in a different way.

Whether or not it is best to upgrade now or wait for the next generation processor is a decision we all face at some point.  Do whichever feels best for you.

[Mary Featherston]

21 hours ago, Dianna said:

I use both! I dont get batteries from insurance (we are going to re check this) so i use rechargables nearly all the time.

Plus, those buggers add up! I dont like them unless they can be totally recycled!

My current insurance is pretty good, so it's possible that I could get batteries through them, but I never checked, because as I mentioned, I hate disposable things.  I'll be retiring this spring and will then be dealing with Medicare, which I assume is okay (most people I know are fine with it) but not up to 3M's insurance standards, because honestly we have such a great deal - most people I know pay more for less.  When I go on Medicare it will cost me more.

[Dianna]

I currently have social security and humana gold advantage supplemental. I bet id have a deductable now. but my hearing aid was paid for!  probably the combo of state medicaid. 

I had a marketplace blue cross plus "extra help" from iowa state medicaid when implanted. My ci was paid for back then, and i was 64. Im now 65

The humana has deductables, not sure i can do batteries, just assumed no. Leah said i need to do a form, so im checking.

I know humana doesnt pay much, maybe 5$ for audi appt