The cost of CI....

Audiofuzzy

Audiofuzzy

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This is the question for those who have CI or kids with CI - what is your average cost per month due to your CI? Do you have one, or two?

I hope I MAY ask that private financial question...?
I would be very grateful for replies - I am curious as to the financial side of CI and its maintenance.


Fuzzy
 
Well, my insurance paid for the surgery and the hardware 100%. As far as the batteries go, they were supplied and they are rechargeable. I was told that it is suggestible that I get four new batteries every year but I get 80% reimbursed by my insurance. I believe they are 150 bucks a battery, so that would leave me with a deductible of $120 which isn't bad. I have quite some time before I fork out that kind of money anyway.

I have a 10 dollar co-pay every time I go to get mapped but then 7 bucks for valet parking.

I have a Dri and Store machine which takes care of my CI and HA which needs Dri-brics changed every two months. Every six months I spend 10 bucks on three Dri-brics.

Then I have my batteries for my hearing aid, Every two months I run out and buy a pack which cost me around the neighborhood of 8-10 bucks. I know those who have Nucleus use hearing batteries and they probably order them in bulk from Microbattery.com (which is what I SHOULD do for my hearing aid). I'm sure someone will come along and answer that for the Freedoms.

As of right now, my forecasted average after purchasing new rechargeable batteries along with the mapping, valet, dri-brics, and HA batteries average out to be $22 bucks a month rounded off for the cost of electricity to run the battery charger and the Dri and Store machine.

Without purchasing new batteries, it averages out to be about $10 bucks a month. I took in consideration of a new mapping every 3 months, the Dri-brics, the HA batteries.

This is what you get for asking a paid bean counter :) A formal draft haha.
 
My CI and surgery was mostly covered by insurance. I had to pay an out of pocket cost of about $600 for the anaesthetist but that was it.

As for running costs, the mappings are covered by Medicare, basically the government 100%.

I have to pay for my batteries though. For bilateral CIs I am paying US$29 per month - that's 12 batteries a week that I consume on average, since you need 3 batteries at a time for each CI and I change them twice a week. For one CI it would be half so say US$15.

Then there is the cost of running the dry and store, which I use every night.

Apart from that, it's about it. If I need to replace parts then obviously I'd have to shell out for that.
 
I guess my aide was unfortunate to get lousy insurance cuz her insurance doesnt cover the hardware. She hasnt been able to wear her CI for almost 2 months due to not being able to afford to pay $350 for a part.
 
shel90 said:
I guess my aide was unfortunate to get lousy insurance cuz her insurance doesnt cover the hardware. She hasnt been able to wear her CI for almost 2 months due to not being able to afford to pay $350 for a part.
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Can't you get an extended warranty? I thought I heard/read about this somewhere.

dogirl
 
Dogirl said:
Can't you get an extended warranty? I thought I heard/read about this somewhere.

dogirl
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Oh no..not me..My aide at work. I am a teacher and I have an aide who has a CI. I feel bad for her cuz she misses hearing but I told her that she is lucky to be fluent in ASL so she is not shut out completely in regards to communication. She agreed with me.
 
Dogirl said:
Can't you get an extended warranty? I thought I heard/read about this somewhere.

dogirl
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You just reminded me. I also pay insurance of about $240 per year to cover for loss, theft and damage of the speech processor. It's a standalone policy.
 
shel90 said:
Oh no..not me..My aide at work. I am a teacher and I have an aide who has a CI. I feel bad for her cuz she misses hearing but I told her that she is lucky to be fluent in ASL so she is not shut out completely in regards to communication. She agreed with me.
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I assume she works in a mainly ASL environment anyway if she is a colleague of yours. That must really help. Bummer for her having to pay for the expensive parts. The downside of technology eh?

I think that technological dependency was behind my decision to get a second implant. So if one was temporarily out, I could use the other one. I work in a speech environment, so that was something that I was very mindful of.
 
R2D2 said:
I assume she works in a mainly ASL environment anyway if she is a colleague of yours. That must really help. Bummer for her having to pay for the expensive parts. The downside of technology eh?

I think that technological dependency was behind my decision to get a second implant. So if one was temporarily out, I could use the other one. I work in a speech environment, so that was something that I was very mindful of.
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Yep, she is in an ASL environment all day but after work, she is in a non signing environment with her family cuz none of her family members know any signs. I dont want to get into details about her personal life but let's say that not having her CI is putting a strain on her home life. I wonder if that is a bad thing about becoming TOO dependent on technology?
 
My insurance covered 90% up to 1300 and then they picked up 100%. My surgery was 155,000 and the doctor cost was 14,000. I ended up paying 1,000.

I also have Advanced Bionics and the batteries are rechargeable. I am trying now to see if my insurance will cover the cost. I think they cover 90% of the cost. But since I met my max this year, I want to get my batteries for the next year because they should cover 100%.

Question - I use the dri and store that came with my CI, should I get a better one?
 
vallee said:
My insurance covered 90% up to 1300 and then they picked up 100%. My surgery was 155,000 and the doctor cost was 14,000. I ended up paying 1,000.

I also have Advanced Bionics and the batteries are rechargeable. I am trying now to see if my insurance will cover the cost. I think they cover 90% of the cost. But since I met my max this year, I want to get my batteries for the next year because they should cover 100%.

Question - I use the dri and store that came with my CI, should I get a better one?
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:eek3: $155,000 for the surgery? I didnt realize the price went up?!
 
I pay nothing, my health insurance paid it 100% and I got it free.
 
shel90 said:
Yep, she is in an ASL environment all day but after work, she is in a non signing environment with her family cuz none of her family members know any signs. I dont want to get into details about her personal life but let's say that not having her CI is putting a strain on her home life. I wonder if that is a bad thing about becoming TOO dependent on technology?
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About the same if your car broke down and you couldn't get to work. Times have changed so much that it is almost impossible NOT to be dependent on technology.

I have NO idea what I would do with out my computer or cell phone. Go through withdrawls maybe. LOL

dogirl
 
vallee said:
Oh mapping 200 dollars each time.
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Yeah, that is my gripe more than anything else. Nothing like cruising along and doing the yearly visit and then getting the "yikes" syndrome when getting the bill. This was with my old insurer and they covered maybe $50 bucks of it. I'm now with a new insurer so it may be better next time around.

The rest of the "costs" are reasonable (and customary ;) ).

Let me see...I have the Freedom
Batteries (I hadn't had to pay for any yet because they gave three years worth for being in a study). I will get the microbattery deal when the time comes.

Insurance costs (to cover damage and what not). I will be doing that in spring as that will be three years. I'm covered now under a three year warranty.

Microphone covers ($40 for four of them and they last up to six months (that's pushing it). I will have to order some by spring and I have two CIs each a different color (we in NC get two...one is a backup).

Oh yeah, those dry and store bricks. I had to order some for the first time recently. I tend to cheat and use the dry and store about once a week. I have a way with my devices and I can keep them going forever.

Not looking forward to having to replace any parts if necessary due to the expense like for the transmitter/coil. That blinking thing is some $200 alone.

FYI - My surgery was $50,000 and I paid about $2000 out of pocket (easily a steal for what I got out of my CI - no complaints).
 
shel90 said:
Yep, she is in an ASL environment all day but after work, she is in a non signing environment with her family cuz none of her family members know any signs. I dont want to get into details about her personal life but let's say that not having her CI is putting a strain on her home life. I wonder if that is a bad thing about becoming TOO dependent on technology?
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While I agree in a general sense of being mindful about technological dependence, I'm not sure if hearing family issues is that strongly related to technology. I've got the impression that distant and strained relations with hearing family members are experienced by deaf people across the board. So many ADers have spoken about family members who do not sign for example.

So I think that family life is an issue that we have something in common, whether we have a CI/hearing aid or not.
 
R2D2 said:
While I agree in a general sense of being mindful about technological dependence, I'm not sure if hearing family issues is that strongly related to technology. I've got the impression that distant and strained relations with hearing family members are experienced by deaf people across the board. So many ADers have spoken about family members who do not sign for example.

So I think that family life is an issue that we have something in common, whether we have a CI/hearing aid or not.
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Nods, you raise an excellent point there.
 
Times have changed so much that it is almost impossible NOT to be dependent on technology.
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Good point, but then again people should learn to function both with and without technology. Technology is imperfect. It's great, but its imperfect. Besides, how are you gonna function without a CI or HA in an intiminate setting if you get my drift? LOL
And I mean the costs associated with CI are costly, but then again most insurances cover CI, so the CIers are getting a HUGe break there.
 
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