+Re:Preschool Question - Eligibility
Posted by: "Christina Marmor" christina.marmor@gmail.com christinascarmeas
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 4:50 am ((PDT))
Hi Melissa,
We went through something very similar with Christian during our
transition from Infants and Toddlers into our public school system. I
know how frustrating it is to be told that your child doesn't
"qualify" because they are doing too well. In our case, we never had
an age appropriate/language appropriate cohort that Christian would
thrive in. That has pretty much been our story with Christian since
our days of toddler group, which is why he has been placed in an
amazing program at a private preschool in our area is about 90%
hearing and 10% D/HOH kids. Christian has been thriving there since he
was 18 months old. We do receive services 2x a month from our county
from a TOD who is also a SLP. She is wonderful, which has been very
positive for us.
It has been SO important to our family goals that Christian is
educated within a peer group that has strong language models. In our
case, if Christian went to the D/HOH program, while the teachers and
class size would benefit him, HE would be the language model in HIS
class. That was just not satisfactory for us, or for Christian. The D/
HOH preschool for Christian just wasn't a good fit. It was
frustrating for us, because the preschool program in our area really
is only as good as the cohort the kids are in. We have a good friend
whose little boy is one year old than Christian, and is THRIVING in
the D/HOH program. His peers are all well matched. Ugh. You might want
to think about what your family goals are and if your D/HOH preschool
fits those goals.
Good luck and stay positive!
Tina
Christian (3, implanted 5/08)
Lily (15 months, hearing)
Messages in this topic (1)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2a. Re: Preschool Question - Eligibility
Posted by: "Jim Ellis" jde1@psu.edu jimmybaud2000
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 4:53 am ((PDT))
Jennifer's absolutely correct in this post.
If you have a TOD who is currently providing services (or some variant of
that provider), that person can greatly influence the determination of
eligibility. We were in the same situation as you. One good thing is that
the real battle starts in a couple of years for you - since you are
basically transitioning from an IFSP to an IEP, but your daughter is only
three, the school is less likely to make as big a deal about it. The intent
of the law is to provide services as early as possible, so that there are no
delays by the time the child begins "real" school.
That said, remember that if you do not agree with the determination of
eligibility, you do not have to sign anything, you can contest it, and any
services now in place must stay in place until everybody agrees.
Also, when it comes to an outside evaluation (MFE in Jennifer's world, MDE
in mine), you request it, the school district provides it. If you still
disagree, you can pay to have another one done.
You should be getting some kind of annual evaluations from your implant
team. If the implant team believes that services are still warranted, you
could request that a member of the team show up to the meeting.
Best, hope it works out!
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
Of Jennifer Golowin
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 9:24 PM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: Re: [cicircle] Preschool Question - Eligibility
It is absolutely possible that the school district is going to fight you on
eligibility for preschool placement. The old idea that "deaf kids
automatically qualify" is no longer valid. And we're seeing this in our area
more and more.
We went through a very similar situation last summer. Our son was implanted
at 8 months old, and is doing very well.
Our first MFE (conducted by the district) was awful, with only one test
(PLS4) conducted in a 1:1 enviroment within an ear shot of my son. At our
MFE meeting, where we were trying to get him eligible for services - which
they said he was not eligible for, we disputed the testing the district had
done. The law states that a variety of tests, in a variety of settings (i.e.
classroom, 1:1, etc.) be conducted, which our district (and we see other
districts) failed to do. At this time, the district went back and did an
actual MFE, including articulation tests (Goldman Fristone) and a test for
auditory comprehension (TACL-3). These tests showed deficiencies and we were
given an IEP.
My suggestions would be to: 1. Understand your rights. If you do not agree
with the district findings you have a right to conduct your own MFE - where
you can have specific tests run to find artic and auditory errors; 2.
Network with other parents in your area (hopefully within your district) to
see how their process has gone; 3. Advocate, advocate, advocate for your
child. It can be a very exhausting process.
I detailed our experiences with the whole IEP process on our blog, and even
put up posts on what to do to prepare, etc. for the meetings. I hope you
find it helpful. If I can help in any way, please feel free to email me off
list.
http://turnonmyears.blogspot.com/search/label/IEP
Jenny
On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 7:42 PM, colavitomelissa
wrote:
>
>
> I haven't posted for a while, but we had our first meeting with our school
> district today. My daughter(implanted at 9 months old) turns 3 in July and
> currently has no delays in her language, and we were told that she was not
> automatically eligible for services based on her disability alone.
>
> So my question is this - is it possible that the school district might say
> that because she is not behind in her language she does not qualify for
> preschool services? We feel strongly that she needs support as she
> transitions out of early intervention. Does anyone have any input or
> suggestions for us?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Melissa
>
>
>
--
Jenny Golowin
www.turnonmyears.blogspot.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for
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Messages in this topic (19)
________________________________________________________________________
2b. Re: Preschool Question - Eligibility
Posted by: "Jim Ellis" jde1@psu.edu jimmybaud2000
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 4:56 am ((PDT))
Quick correction - transitioning from Early Intervention to IFSP... it's too
freakin' early and I'm still only on my second pot of caffeine.
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
Of Jim Ellis
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 7:53 AM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: RE: [cicircle] Preschool Question - Eligibility
Jennifer's absolutely correct in this post.
If you have a TOD who is currently providing services (or some variant of
that provider), that person can greatly influence the determination of
eligibility. We were in the same situation as you. One good thing is that
the real battle starts in a couple of years for you - since you are
basically transitioning from an IFSP to an IEP, but your daughter is only
three, the school is less likely to make as big a deal about it. The intent
of the law is to provide services as early as possible, so that there are no
delays by the time the child begins "real" school.
That said, remember that if you do not agree with the determination of
eligibility, you do not have to sign anything, you can contest it, and any
services now in place must stay in place until everybody agrees.
Also, when it comes to an outside evaluation (MFE in Jennifer's world, MDE
in mine), you request it, the school district provides it. If you still
disagree, you can pay to have another one done.
You should be getting some kind of annual evaluations from your implant
team. If the implant team believes that services are still warranted, you
could request that a member of the team show up to the meeting.
Best, hope it works out!
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
Of Jennifer Golowin
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 9:24 PM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: Re: [cicircle] Preschool Question - Eligibility
It is absolutely possible that the school district is going to fight you on
eligibility for preschool placement. The old idea that "deaf kids
automatically qualify" is no longer valid. And we're seeing this in our area
more and more.
We went through a very similar situation last summer. Our son was implanted
at 8 months old, and is doing very well.
Our first MFE (conducted by the district) was awful, with only one test
(PLS4) conducted in a 1:1 enviroment within an ear shot of my son. At our
MFE meeting, where we were trying to get him eligible for services - which
they said he was not eligible for, we disputed the testing the district had
done. The law states that a variety of tests, in a variety of settings (i.e.
classroom, 1:1, etc.) be conducted, which our district (and we see other
districts) failed to do. At this time, the district went back and did an
actual MFE, including articulation tests (Goldman Fristone) and a test for
auditory comprehension (TACL-3). These tests showed deficiencies and we were
given an IEP.
My suggestions would be to: 1. Understand your rights. If you do not agree
with the district findings you have a right to conduct your own MFE - where
you can have specific tests run to find artic and auditory errors; 2.
Network with other parents in your area (hopefully within your district) to
see how their process has gone; 3. Advocate, advocate, advocate for your
child. It can be a very exhausting process.
I detailed our experiences with the whole IEP process on our blog, and even
put up posts on what to do to prepare, etc. for the meetings. I hope you
find it helpful. If I can help in any way, please feel free to email me off
list.
http://turnonmyears.blogspot.com/search/label/IEP
Jenny
On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 7:42 PM, colavitomelissa
wrote:
>
>
> I haven't posted for a while, but we had our first meeting with our school
> district today. My daughter(implanted at 9 months old) turns 3 in July and
> currently has no delays in her language, and we were told that she was not
> automatically eligible for services based on her disability alone.
>
> So my question is this - is it possible that the school district might say
> that because she is not behind in her language she does not qualify for
> preschool services? We feel strongly that she needs support as she
> transitions out of early intervention. Does anyone have any input or
> suggestions for us?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Melissa
>
>
>
--
Jenny Golowin
www.turnonmyears.blogspot.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
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research, publication, etc., without the express consent of the person who
posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups
Links
------------------------------------
Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for
research, publication, etc., without the express consent of the person who
posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups
Links
Messages in this topic (19)
________________________________________________________________________
2c. Re: Preschool Question - Eligibility
Posted by: "Marny Helfrich" marnyh@gmail.com teachermarny
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 5:13 am ((PDT))
On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 7:56 AM, Jim Ellis wrote:
>
>
> Quick correction - transitioning from Early Intervention to IFSP... it's
> too
> freakin' early and I'm still only on my second pot of caffeine.
>
> Jim --
You were right the first time! Transitioning for EI (with an IFSP) to Part
B/school system-based services with an IEP.
If you contest the original eligibility deterination (at the time of
transition), I don't know if "stay put" applies to the IFSP services. That
is a very interesting question . . .
Marny
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Messages in this topic (19)
________________________________________________________________________
2d. Re: Preschool Question - Eligibility
Posted by: "Jim Ellis" jde1@psu.edu jimmybaud2000
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 5:25 am ((PDT))
I couldn't find "stay put" in the Part B stuff either (reading the law),
but when we contested our services termination, our legal guy wrote it into
the complaint letter to the school district. If nothing else, speak it as if
you believe it. Bluff. Whoops, sorry, wrong term. "Advocate". Anyway,
mentioning "stay put" did work, and most school districts have so little
real experience with IFSP due process hearings, "advocating" works pretty
well!
The other thing I'm not sure about is if due process also applies to
eligibility determination. Most of the discussion applies to services
reduction after eligibility is determined. If I have time, I'll poke around
Wright's Law stuff and see if there's something there.
Best,
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
Of Marny Helfrich
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 8:13 AM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: Re: [cicircle] Preschool Question - Eligibility
On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 7:56 AM, Jim Ellis wrote:
>
>
> Quick correction - transitioning from Early Intervention to IFSP... it's
> too
> freakin' early and I'm still only on my second pot of caffeine.
>
> Jim --
You were right the first time! Transitioning for EI (with an IFSP) to Part
B/school system-based services with an IEP.
If you contest the original eligibility deterination (at the time of
transition), I don't know if "stay put" applies to the IFSP services. That
is a very interesting question . . .
Marny
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for
research, publication, etc., without the express consent of the person who
posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups
Links
Messages in this topic (19)
________________________________________________________________________
2e. Re: Preschool Question - Eligibility
Posted by: "Jim Ellis" jde1@psu.edu jimmybaud2000
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 5:30 am ((PDT))
From a quick look, you can use due process to contest eligibility, too.
Best,
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
Of Jim Ellis
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 8:25 AM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: RE: [cicircle] Preschool Question - Eligibility
I couldn't find "stay put" in the Part B stuff either (reading the law),
but when we contested our services termination, our legal guy wrote it into
the complaint letter to the school district. If nothing else, speak it as if
you believe it. Bluff. Whoops, sorry, wrong term. "Advocate". Anyway,
mentioning "stay put" did work, and most school districts have so little
real experience with IFSP due process hearings, "advocating" works pretty
well!
The other thing I'm not sure about is if due process also applies to
eligibility determination. Most of the discussion applies to services
reduction after eligibility is determined. If I have time, I'll poke around
Wright's Law stuff and see if there's something there.
Best,
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
Of Marny Helfrich
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 8:13 AM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: Re: [cicircle] Preschool Question - Eligibility
On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 7:56 AM, Jim Ellis wrote:
>
>
> Quick correction - transitioning from Early Intervention to IFSP... it's
> too
> freakin' early and I'm still only on my second pot of caffeine.
>
> Jim --
You were right the first time! Transitioning for EI (with an IFSP) to Part
B/school system-based services with an IEP.
If you contest the original eligibility deterination (at the time of
transition), I don't know if "stay put" applies to the IFSP services. That
is a very interesting question . . .
Marny
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for
research, publication, etc., without the express consent of the person who
posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups
Links
------------------------------------
Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for
research, publication, etc., without the express consent of the person who
posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups
Links
Messages in this topic (19)
________________________________________________________________________
2f. Re: Preschool Question - Eligibility
Posted by: "Marny Helfrich" marnyh@gmail.com teachermarny
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 5:49 am ((PDT))
On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 8:30 AM, Jim Ellis wrote:
>
>
>
> From a quick look, you can use due process to contest eligibility, too.
>
> Definitely. And if the child had been receiving Part B (IEP) services and
then there was a dispute about elibility at the time of a re-eval, stay put
would apply during the due process.
The question I was wondering about if you had a child who was receiving
services under Part C (birth-to-three, EI) and the child was found
ineligible for Part B services and the family decided to contest the
determination through Due Process, would the child continue to receive
services through EI in the interim (under "stay put"). I think not, but I
don't know for sure.
Marny
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Messages in this topic (19)
________________________________________________________________________
2g. Re: Preschool Question - Eligibility
Posted by: "Deborah Wess" dwess7@comcast.net
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 7:52 am ((PDT))
Despite the other good posts, I think the real issue to fight is that she DOES qualify based on being deaf "alone". that way you don't need to get into what she may or may not need in the future, etc. I bet you could contact the legal advocacy arm of AG Bell for some quick and simple language to help you communicate this to your school district. Or, get yourself a copy of Wright's Law.
good luck,
Deborah
----- Original Message -----
From: Cassandra Weaver
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 9:38 PM
Subject: Re: [cicircle] Preschool Question - Eligibility
We also had our transition meeting with the school district today. I'm not sure exactly how it works here b/c my son is delayed, but I do believe that the disability alone would have qualified him even without the delays. And his delays are in receptive/expressive, but also in other areas such as socialization and a tad cognitive b/c of the speech delays, so that helps qualify him as well. Sounds like you and I are in the exact same process, my guy is turning 3 in July as well.
________________________________
From: Barbara Mellert
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sent: Tue, April 6, 2010 8:29:16 PM
Subject: Re: [cicircle] Preschool Question - Eligibility
I think that's the $100 question. How can you tell that a child at 3
isn't going to need services when they are older. There's a huge
difference between second and third grade - when the whole learning to
read becomes reading to learn and it's a whole new kettle of fish for
our kids. I'm not sure that can be predicted when a child is three
years old. It's very hard.
It's the same here in NH - educational need.
Barbara
KCkitty22@aol. com wrote:
> There really has to be an educational NEED for services. I am a teacher of
> the deaf and there has been a lot of discussions about children at 3 who
> are on par with their peers and not qualifying for services, but then at 5
> may not be on par....how do you qualify these 3 year olds. educational need
> is the key, at least in texas.
>
> Mary
> _http://theshaddoxbo ys.blogspot. com/_ (http://theshaddoxbo ys.blogspot. com/)
> Mom to Elijah(bilateral Freedom cochlear implants, tourette syndrome, ADHD
> and OCD) and Jacob(ADHD and a TEENAGER)
>
>
> In a message dated 4/6/2010 8:17:07 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
> weikert3@verizon. net writes:
>
>
>
>
> It is my understanding that because of her being deaf she does
> automatically
> qualify. Here in NJ, we still have to go through the qualification process
> (my daughter turns 3 in October), but she will be eligible for services.
>
> Best of luck to you!
>
> Faith Weikert
> Mom to Justin 5/11/90
> Juliana 3/21/04
> Mikaela 10/26/07 Severe/Profound SNHL Implanted right ear 12/08/08
> Activated
> 12/22/08
> www.mkwpath. www.mkwpawww
> Rebecca 9/9/09
>
> ____________ _________ _________ _________ _
> From: _cicircle@yahoogrou pcicir_ (mailto:cicircle@yahoogroup s.com)
> [mailto:_cicircle@ yahoogroupcicir_ (mailto:cicircle@yahoogroup s.com) ] On Behalf
> Of colavitomelissa
> Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 7:42 PM
> To: _cicircle@yahoogrou pcicir_ (mailto:cicircle@yahoogroup s.com)
> Subject: [cicircle] Preschool Question - Eligibility
>
>
> I haven't posted for a while, but we had our first meeting with our school
> district today. My daughter(implanted at 9 months old) turns 3 in July and
> currently has no delays in her language, and we were told that she was not
> automatically eligible for services based on her disability alone.
>
> So my question is this - is it possible that the school district might say
> that because she is not behind in her language she does not qualify for
> preschool services? We feel strongly that she needs support as she
> transitions out of early intervention. Does anyone have any input or
> suggestions for us?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Melissa
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------ --------- --------- ------
>
> Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for research, publication, etc., without the express consent of the person who posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
--
************ ****
Barbara Mellert
Manager, Social Science Computing
Peter Kiewit Computing Services
Dartmouth College
13A Silsby Hall, HB 6121
Hanover NH 03755
Telephone: 603/646-2877
URL: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~ssc
**Remember - Passwords should never be shared.
Computing Services will never ask for passwords through e-mail or over the phone.**
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Messages in this topic (19)
________________________________________________________________________
2h. Re: Preschool Question - Eligibility
Posted by: "Marny Helfrich" marnyh@gmail.com teachermarny
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 8:07 am ((PDT))
On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 10:51 AM, Deborah Wess wrote:
>>
> Despite the other good posts, I think the real issue to fight is that she DOES qualify based on being deaf "alone". that way you don't need to get into what she may or may not need in the future, etc.
I don't know what state the original poster is in, but under the
federal law , just having a medical diagnosis of disability DOES NOT
automatically make the child eligible for special education services.
The federal standard is a two-pronged test: having one of the 14
disabilities and that disability having a significant educational
impact, necessitating special education and related services so that
the child can access and progress in the general education curriculum
and receive a free and appropriate public education.
.(Note that just having the diagnosis DOES qualify the child for a 504
plan and whatever "reasonable accomodations" he or she needs to have
access.)
Marny
Messages in this topic (19)
________________________________________________________________________
2i. Re: Preschool Question - Eligibility
Posted by: "Melissa Colavito" colavitomelissa@yahoo.com colavitomelissa
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 11:43 am ((PDT))
Thanks everyone for your comments! We are in NJ, and the way I understand it is that we have to prove that her disability impacts her educationally and therefore she needs special services. The problem is that all or her audiograms and speech language evals are so good. I'm looking into having some testing conducted in noise, so we can illustrate her need.
I didn't know that a 504 had to be provided when a child has a disability, but I felt like that is the road they wanted to go down with us. We obviously want her to qualify for services and have an IEP.
One more question, what is "Wright's Law?" I'll have to look that up! Thanks again for all the great information.
--- On Wed, 4/7/10, Marny Helfrich wrote:
From: Marny Helfrich
Subject: Re: [cicircle] Preschool Question - Eligibility
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Date: Wednesday, April 7, 2010, 11:07 AM
On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 10:51 AM, Deborah Wess wrote:
>>
> Despite the other good posts, I think the real issue to fight is that she DOES qualify based on being deaf "alone". that way you don't need to get into what she may or may not need in the future, etc.
I don't know what state the original poster is in, but under the
federal law , just having a medical diagnosis of disability DOES NOT
automatically make the child eligible for special education services.
The federal standard is a two-pronged test: having one of the 14
disabilities and that disability having a significant educational
impact, necessitating special education and related services so that
the child can access and progress in the general education curriculum
and receive a free and appropriate public education.
.(Note that just having the diagnosis DOES qualify the child for a 504
plan and whatever "reasonable accomodations" he or she needs to have
access.)
Marny
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Messages in this topic (19)
________________________________________________________________________
2j. Re: Preschool Question - Eligibility
Posted by: "Marny Helfrich" marnyh@gmail.com teachermarny
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 11:49 am ((PDT))
Melissa -
As others have said, the eligibility determination can not be based just on
one test, it is a team decision based on a variety of information.
What kind of services/supports do you think she needs in order to receive an
"appropriate" education and "progress in the general curriculum" (these are
the school buzzwords!)? If she is not behind now (hooray!), what kind of
evidence (observations, reports, etc., as well as standardized tests) will
demonstrate that she needs extra support to continue to progress?
Marny
On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 2:43 PM, Melissa Colavito
wrote:
>
>
> Thanks everyone for your comments! We are in NJ, and the way I understand
> it is that we have to prove that her disability impacts her educationally
> and therefore she needs special services. The problem is that all or her
> audiograms and speech language evals are so good. I'm looking into having
> some testing conducted in noise, so we can illustrate her need.
>
> I didn't know that a 504 had to be provided when a child has a disability,
> but I felt like that is the road they wanted to go down with us. We
> obviously want her to qualify for services and have an IEP.
>
> One more question, what is "Wright's Law?" I'll have to look that up!
> Thanks again for all the great information.
>
>
> --- On Wed, 4/7/10, Marny Helfrich >
> wrote:
>
> From: Marny Helfrich >
>
> Subject: Re: [cicircle] Preschool Question - Eligibility
> To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
> Date: Wednesday, April 7, 2010, 11:07 AM
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 10:51 AM, Deborah Wess wrote:
> >>
> > Despite the other good posts, I think the real issue to fight is that she
> DOES qualify based on being deaf "alone". that way you don't need to get
> into what she may or may not need in the future, etc.
>
> I don't know what state the original poster is in, but under the
> federal law , just having a medical diagnosis of disability DOES NOT
> automatically make the child eligible for special education services.
> The federal standard is a two-pronged test: having one of the 14
> disabilities and that disability having a significant educational
> impact, necessitating special education and related services so that
> the child can access and progress in the general education curriculum
> and receive a free and appropriate public education.
>
> .(Note that just having the diagnosis DOES qualify the child for a 504
> plan and whatever "reasonable accomodations" he or she needs to have
> access.)
>
> Marny
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Messages in this topic (19)
________________________________________________________________________
2k. Re: Preschool Question - Eligibility
Posted by: "Jim Ellis" jde1@psu.edu jimmybaud2000
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 12:02 pm ((PDT))
Wright's Law has a web site that's supposed to help parents like you
understand their rights when it comes to disability rights in public
schools. They also have several IEP publications, most of which should be
available in a public library.
Of all the states, NJ is one with huge monetary problems and one that has a
reputation for making it difficult to get the services you think you need.
You should do all you can to educate yourself about the IEP. There are a
whole bunch of good lawyers who work for school districts - there aren't a
lot of lawyers to help parents! If worse comes to worse, and you need an
attorney, please let me know and I can put you in contact with a firm that
handles stuff like this. (My sister-in-law's sister has a disabled son, and
she works for a law firm who helps parents...)
On the other hand, who'd 'a ever thunk that your deaf daughter would ever
do so well that she may not even qualify for an IEP? Amazing!!!
The Wright's Law publications should guide you through the whole IEP
process, and can provide you with those good buzz words. It will help you
with things like who is on the team, what the school district can and can't
do, what you can and can't do, and how to get the best plan for your
daughter.
Best,
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
Of Melissa Colavito
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 2:43 PM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: Re: [cicircle] Preschool Question - Eligibility
Thanks everyone for your comments! We are in NJ, and the way I understand
it is that we have to prove that her disability impacts her educationally
and therefore she needs special services. The problem is that all or her
audiograms and speech language evals are so good. I'm looking into having
some testing conducted in noise, so we can illustrate her need.
I didn't know that a 504 had to be provided when a child has a disability,
but I felt like that is the road they wanted to go down with us. We
obviously want her to qualify for services and have an IEP.
One more question, what is "Wright's Law?" I'll have to look that up!
Thanks again for all the great information.
--- On Wed, 4/7/10, Marny Helfrich wrote:
From: Marny Helfrich
Subject: Re: [cicircle] Preschool Question - Eligibility
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Date: Wednesday, April 7, 2010, 11:07 AM
On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 10:51 AM, Deborah Wess wrote:
>>
> Despite the other good posts, I think the real issue to fight is that she
DOES qualify based on being deaf "alone". that way you don't need to get
into what she may or may not need in the future, etc.
I don't know what state the original poster is in, but under the
federal law , just having a medical diagnosis of disability DOES NOT
automatically make the child eligible for special education services.
The federal standard is a two-pronged test: having one of the 14
disabilities and that disability having a significant educational
impact, necessitating special education and related services so that
the child can access and progress in the general education curriculum
and receive a free and appropriate public education.
.(Note that just having the diagnosis DOES qualify the child for a 504
plan and whatever "reasonable accomodations" he or she needs to have
access.)
Marny
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for
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posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups
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Messages in this topic (19)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3a. Re: Warranty Question - Cochlear extended warranty and medicaid in P
Posted by: "ian_and_jen" ian_and_jen@yahoo.com ian_and_jen
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 7:18 am ((PDT))
Hi
I pulled up this old message via the search function and would love any input around the Cochlear warranty and medical assistance in PA.
I haven't been here in forever - mostly b/c our daughter is doing so great that I haven't had any questions! Guess I should visit more often in case I could help any newer parents out, though - will try to be around more.
Anyway, Carys is almost 3 years out from receiving her freedom implant and the warranty is due to expire. We were told by our audiologist that since she has MA as her secondary insurance we should NOT get the extended warranty from Cochlear b/c it could invalidate her MA (?) - something along if we paid for the warranty ourself it would be a problem.
So, if you are/were in this situation, what did you do? Any feedback is appreciated.
Thanks!
Jennifer
--- In XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, "Rebecca Weaver" wrote:
>
> Hi Everyone!
> My 4 year old son has a Nucleus Freedom BTE and his 3 year initial warranty
> is about to expire. I was wondering if anyone did NOT purchase the extended
> warranty from Cochlear Corp and relied on their private insurance and/or
> secondary insurance for repairs/problems (especially those of you living in
> PA and other states that have Medical Assistance as insurance). I contacted
> both of our insurance companies and they stated that they will cover repairs
> if "medically necessary". We had an audiologist tell us that basically the
> only difference was with the Cochlear warranty you get the repaired
> equipment pretty quickly, if you go through insurance you'll have to wait
> for authorizations etc. We have a lot of backup equipment (another
> processor, 3 or more controllers, 4 coils, etc) so unless both processors go
> at the same time we can wait for repairs. We have replaced everything more
> times than I can count in the 3 years although it's gotten better now that
> he's older. Thanks for any input.
>
> Becky
>
Messages in this topic (16)
________________________________________________________________________
3b. Re: Warranty Question - Cochlear extended warranty and medicaid in P
Posted by: "Jim Ellis" jde1@psu.edu jimmybaud2000
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 8:05 am ((PDT))
I'm in PA...
The advice we got, both from the implant team and the manufacturer (AB in
this case), is that you do not need to pay for an extended warranty.
Medicaid will cover that.
You should find out specifically about coverage if a device is LOST. Our
implant team always mentions the loss coverage from ESCO (spelling??).
I don't think that paying for a warranty would invalidate MA, but once you
have paid for that warranty, Medicaid won't pay for anything related to
equipment. Typically, your primary insurance, if available, pays a portion
of the cost and Medicaid pays the rest, so a warranty messes stuff up.
That's the problem they talked about.
FWIW,
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
Of ian_and_jen
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 10:18 AM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: [cicircle] Re: Warranty Question - Cochlear extended warranty and
medicaid in PA?
Hi
I pulled up this old message via the search function and would love any
input around the Cochlear warranty and medical assistance in PA.
I haven't been here in forever - mostly b/c our daughter is doing so great
that I haven't had any questions! Guess I should visit more often in case I
could help any newer parents out, though - will try to be around more.
Anyway, Carys is almost 3 years out from receiving her freedom implant and
the warranty is due to expire. We were told by our audiologist that since
she has MA as her secondary insurance we should NOT get the extended
warranty from Cochlear b/c it could invalidate her MA (?) - something along
if we paid for the warranty ourself it would be a problem.
So, if you are/were in this situation, what did you do? Any feedback is
appreciated.
Thanks!
Jennifer
--- In XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, "Rebecca Weaver" wrote:
>
> Hi Everyone!
> My 4 year old son has a Nucleus Freedom BTE and his 3 year initial
warranty
> is about to expire. I was wondering if anyone did NOT purchase the
extended
> warranty from Cochlear Corp and relied on their private insurance and/or
> secondary insurance for repairs/problems (especially those of you living
in
> PA and other states that have Medical Assistance as insurance). I
contacted
> both of our insurance companies and they stated that they will cover
repairs
> if "medically necessary". We had an audiologist tell us that basically
the
> only difference was with the Cochlear warranty you get the repaired
> equipment pretty quickly, if you go through insurance you'll have to wait
> for authorizations etc. We have a lot of backup equipment (another
> processor, 3 or more controllers, 4 coils, etc) so unless both processors
go
> at the same time we can wait for repairs. We have replaced everything
more
> times than I can count in the 3 years although it's gotten better now that
> he's older. Thanks for any input.
>
> Becky
>
------------------------------------
Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for
research, publication, etc., without the express consent of the person who
posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups
Links
Messages in this topic (16)
________________________________________________________________________
3c. Re: Warranty Question - Cochlear extended warranty and medicaid in P
Posted by: "Randy/Chris Stolinas" stolinas@rcn.com trippypea
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 9:14 am ((PDT))
Jim,
You must be luckier with AB and Medicaid than I am, lol, because I've
had to pay AB the difference between what the primary and Medicaid paid,
and what was left. Example, charge was $300, I prepaid $300, BCBS paid
$0 due to deductible, Medicaid paid $128. I only got the amount of
Medicaid's payment back from AB.
Do you get stuck paying AB anything after Medicaid has paid? I always
thought that if a provider accepted Medicaid they couldn't bill you for
the difference, but after I did have to pay I wondered if that was only
for PA providers and not for out-of-state providers. I am curious if
this is the case for everyone, or if it was just me and they screwed
something up. I always worry that if something did happen to the
processor and we needed a new one, we'd wind up paying thousands of
dollars because the insurances only pay a portion...
Chris
Jim Ellis wrote:
> I'm in PA...
>
> The advice we got, both from the implant team and the manufacturer (AB in
> this case), is that you do not need to pay for an extended warranty.
> Medicaid will cover that.
>
> You should find out specifically about coverage if a device is LOST. Our
> implant team always mentions the loss coverage from ESCO (spelling??).
>
> I don't think that paying for a warranty would invalidate MA, but once you
> have paid for that warranty, Medicaid won't pay for anything related to
> equipment. Typically, your primary insurance, if available, pays a portion
> of the cost and Medicaid pays the rest, so a warranty messes stuff up.
> That's the problem they talked about.
>
> FWIW,
>
> Jim
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
> Of ian_and_jen
> Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 10:18 AM
> To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
> Subject: [cicircle] Re: Warranty Question - Cochlear extended warranty and
> medicaid in PA?
>
> Hi
>
> I pulled up this old message via the search function and would love any
> input around the Cochlear warranty and medical assistance in PA.
>
> I haven't been here in forever - mostly b/c our daughter is doing so great
> that I haven't had any questions! Guess I should visit more often in case I
> could help any newer parents out, though - will try to be around more.
>
> Anyway, Carys is almost 3 years out from receiving her freedom implant and
> the warranty is due to expire. We were told by our audiologist that since
> she has MA as her secondary insurance we should NOT get the extended
> warranty from Cochlear b/c it could invalidate her MA (?) - something along
> if we paid for the warranty ourself it would be a problem.
>
> So, if you are/were in this situation, what did you do? Any feedback is
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks!
> Jennifer
>
>
> --- In XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, "Rebecca Weaver" wrote:
>
>> Hi Everyone!
>> My 4 year old son has a Nucleus Freedom BTE and his 3 year initial
>>
> warranty
>
>> is about to expire. I was wondering if anyone did NOT purchase the
>>
> extended
>
>> warranty from Cochlear Corp and relied on their private insurance and/or
>> secondary insurance for repairs/problems (especially those of you living
>>
> in
>
>> PA and other states that have Medical Assistance as insurance). I
>>
> contacted
>
>> both of our insurance companies and they stated that they will cover
>>
> repairs
>
>> if "medically necessary". We had an audiologist tell us that basically
>>
> the
>
>> only difference was with the Cochlear warranty you get the repaired
>> equipment pretty quickly, if you go through insurance you'll have to wait
>> for authorizations etc. We have a lot of backup equipment (another
>> processor, 3 or more controllers, 4 coils, etc) so unless both processors
>>
> go
>
>> at the same time we can wait for repairs. We have replaced everything
>>
> more
>
>> times than I can count in the 3 years although it's gotten better now that
>>
>
>
>> he's older. Thanks for any input.
>>
>> Becky
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for
> research, publication, etc., without the express consent of the person who
> posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups
> Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for research, publication, etc., without the express consent of the person who posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
Messages in this topic (16)
________________________________________________________________________
3d. Re: Warranty Question - Cochlear extended warranty and medicaid in P
Posted by: "Rebecca Weaver" beckyw9@msn.com rweaver918
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 10:00 am ((PDT))
That was my original post :) My son is now 6 years old (time flies). Anyway, we did not buy the extended warranty. Everything we've needed has been covered by our primary insurance and/or medical assistance. I haven't had to replace a coil or controller through insurance yet because he received his sequential bilateral implant in September 2008, so all of that is still under warranty. But I have received dry and store briks, batteries, microphone protectors, etc. The only complaint that I've heard is that it can take a long time for insurance to approve things. You might want to look into coverage for loss or theft.
Hope this helps,
Becky
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
From: ian_and_jen@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 14:17:54 +0000
Subject: [cicircle] Re: Warranty Question - Cochlear extended warranty and medicaid in PA?
Hi
I pulled up this old message via the search function and would love any input around the Cochlear warranty and medical assistance in PA.
I haven't been here in forever - mostly b/c our daughter is doing so great that I haven't had any questions! Guess I should visit more often in case I could help any newer parents out, though - will try to be around more.
Anyway, Carys is almost 3 years out from receiving her freedom implant and the warranty is due to expire. We were told by our audiologist that since she has MA as her secondary insurance we should NOT get the extended warranty from Cochlear b/c it could invalidate her MA (?) - something along if we paid for the warranty ourself it would be a problem.
So, if you are/were in this situation, what did you do? Any feedback is appreciated.
Thanks!
Jennifer
--- In XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, "Rebecca Weaver" wrote:
>
> Hi Everyone!
> My 4 year old son has a Nucleus Freedom BTE and his 3 year initial warranty
> is about to expire. I was wondering if anyone did NOT purchase the extended
> warranty from Cochlear Corp and relied on their private insurance and/or
> secondary insurance for repairs/problems (especially those of you living in
> PA and other states that have Medical Assistance as insurance). I contacted
> both of our insurance companies and they stated that they will cover repairs
> if "medically necessary". We had an audiologist tell us that basically the
> only difference was with the Cochlear warranty you get the repaired
> equipment pretty quickly, if you go through insurance you'll have to wait
> for authorizations etc. We have a lot of backup equipment (another
> processor, 3 or more controllers, 4 coils, etc) so unless both processors go
> at the same time we can wait for repairs. We have replaced everything more
> times than I can count in the 3 years although it's gotten better now that
> he's older. Thanks for any input.
>
> Becky
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Messages in this topic (16)
________________________________________________________________________
3e. Re: Warranty Question - Cochlear extended warranty and medicaid in P
Posted by: "Jim Ellis" jde1@psu.edu jimmybaud2000
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 10:49 am ((PDT))
So far, I haven't had to pay anything out of pocket, yet. We do have the
in-network waiver, so that deductible thing is what's kicking you.
We just got Highmark a year or so, and it took some time to get everything
in place. Since then, I haven't had to get any equipment. We need to order
some stuff, so I'll be able to see how the stuff really works.
In most cases, there is nothing in the insurance policy that says they will
pay for "repair to processor." In that case, you'd get a blanket denial, and
then Medicaid would get the processor. I think it's different when you are
asking for parts, like cables and batteries. But, like you, I'd want to know
for sure, and that's what I've been told by both AB and the team at CHoP.
Work hard on getting that waiver from BCBS. That deductible thing is a
killer...
Best,
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
Of Randy/Chris Stolinas
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 1:15 PM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: Re: [cicircle] Re: Warranty Question - Cochlear extended warranty
and medicaid in PA?
Jim,
You must be luckier with AB and Medicaid than I am, lol, because I've
had to pay AB the difference between what the primary and Medicaid paid,
and what was left. Example, charge was $300, I prepaid $300, BCBS paid
$0 due to deductible, Medicaid paid $128. I only got the amount of
Medicaid's payment back from AB.
Do you get stuck paying AB anything after Medicaid has paid? I always
thought that if a provider accepted Medicaid they couldn't bill you for
the difference, but after I did have to pay I wondered if that was only
for PA providers and not for out-of-state providers. I am curious if
this is the case for everyone, or if it was just me and they screwed
something up. I always worry that if something did happen to the
processor and we needed a new one, we'd wind up paying thousands of
dollars because the insurances only pay a portion...
Chris
Jim Ellis wrote:
> I'm in PA...
>
> The advice we got, both from the implant team and the manufacturer (AB in
> this case), is that you do not need to pay for an extended warranty.
> Medicaid will cover that.
>
> You should find out specifically about coverage if a device is LOST. Our
> implant team always mentions the loss coverage from ESCO (spelling??).
>
> I don't think that paying for a warranty would invalidate MA, but once
you
> have paid for that warranty, Medicaid won't pay for anything related to
> equipment. Typically, your primary insurance, if available, pays a portion
> of the cost and Medicaid pays the rest, so a warranty messes stuff up.
> That's the problem they talked about.
>
> FWIW,
>
> Jim
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
> Of ian_and_jen
> Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 10:18 AM
> To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
> Subject: [cicircle] Re: Warranty Question - Cochlear extended warranty and
> medicaid in PA?
>
> Hi
>
> I pulled up this old message via the search function and would love any
> input around the Cochlear warranty and medical assistance in PA.
>
> I haven't been here in forever - mostly b/c our daughter is doing so great
> that I haven't had any questions! Guess I should visit more often in case
I
> could help any newer parents out, though - will try to be around more.
>
> Anyway, Carys is almost 3 years out from receiving her freedom implant and
> the warranty is due to expire. We were told by our audiologist that since
> she has MA as her secondary insurance we should NOT get the extended
> warranty from Cochlear b/c it could invalidate her MA (?) - something
along
> if we paid for the warranty ourself it would be a problem.
>
> So, if you are/were in this situation, what did you do? Any feedback is
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks!
> Jennifer
>
>
> --- In XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, "Rebecca Weaver" wrote:
>
>> Hi Everyone!
>> My 4 year old son has a Nucleus Freedom BTE and his 3 year initial
>>
> warranty
>
>> is about to expire. I was wondering if anyone did NOT purchase the
>>
> extended
>
>> warranty from Cochlear Corp and relied on their private insurance and/or
>> secondary insurance for repairs/problems (especially those of you living
>>
> in
>
>> PA and other states that have Medical Assistance as insurance). I
>>
> contacted
>
>> both of our insurance companies and they stated that they will cover
>>
> repairs
>
>> if "medically necessary". We had an audiologist tell us that basically
>>
> the
>
>> only difference was with the Cochlear warranty you get the repaired
>> equipment pretty quickly, if you go through insurance you'll have to wait
>> for authorizations etc. We have a lot of backup equipment (another
>> processor, 3 or more controllers, 4 coils, etc) so unless both processors
>>
> go
>
>> at the same time we can wait for repairs. We have replaced everything
>>
> more
>
>> times than I can count in the 3 years although it's gotten better now
that
>>
>
>
>> he's older. Thanks for any input.
>>
>> Becky
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for
> research, publication, etc., without the express consent of the person who
> posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo!
Groups
> Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for
research, publication, etc., without the express consent of the person who
posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups
Links
>
>
>
>
>
------------------------------------
Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for
research, publication, etc., without the express consent of the person who
posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups
Links
Messages in this topic (16)
________________________________________________________________________
3f. Re: Warranty Question - Cochlear extended warranty and medicaid in P
Posted by: "Jim Ellis" jde1@psu.edu jimmybaud2000
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 11:04 am ((PDT))
However...
Before we "educated" Highmark, our situation was exactly the same as yours.
We ordered about $700 worth of "stuff", it was sent to Highmark, where the
system barfed it out. Same type of bill - "you have a $1000 annual
deductible, of which 0 has been paid, 80% of $700 has been applied to this
years' deductible." We did get some equipment, but then we had our "sessions
of enlightenment". After several weeks (6 or so), the waiver kicked in, and
we got all the outstanding money returned to us.
We also are "self insured", so the benefits people at work have some pretty
significant influence with Highmark. Also, since other BCBSs in other states
do this "right", if you can find one, you can use that when you talk to your
individual insurance company.
Best,
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
Of Jim Ellis
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 1:49 PM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: RE: [cicircle] Re: Warranty Question - Cochlear extended warranty
and medicaid in PA?
So far, I haven't had to pay anything out of pocket, yet. We do have the
in-network waiver, so that deductible thing is what's kicking you.
We just got Highmark a year or so, and it took some time to get everything
in place. Since then, I haven't had to get any equipment. We need to order
some stuff, so I'll be able to see how the stuff really works.
In most cases, there is nothing in the insurance policy that says they will
pay for "repair to processor." In that case, you'd get a blanket denial, and
then Medicaid would get the processor. I think it's different when you are
asking for parts, like cables and batteries. But, like you, I'd want to know
for sure, and that's what I've been told by both AB and the team at CHoP.
Work hard on getting that waiver from BCBS. That deductible thing is a
killer...
Best,
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
Of Randy/Chris Stolinas
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 1:15 PM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: Re: [cicircle] Re: Warranty Question - Cochlear extended warranty
and medicaid in PA?
Jim,
You must be luckier with AB and Medicaid than I am, lol, because I've
had to pay AB the difference between what the primary and Medicaid paid,
and what was left. Example, charge was $300, I prepaid $300, BCBS paid
$0 due to deductible, Medicaid paid $128. I only got the amount of
Medicaid's payment back from AB.
Do you get stuck paying AB anything after Medicaid has paid? I always
thought that if a provider accepted Medicaid they couldn't bill you for
the difference, but after I did have to pay I wondered if that was only
for PA providers and not for out-of-state providers. I am curious if
this is the case for everyone, or if it was just me and they screwed
something up. I always worry that if something did happen to the
processor and we needed a new one, we'd wind up paying thousands of
dollars because the insurances only pay a portion...
Chris
Jim Ellis wrote:
> I'm in PA...
>
> The advice we got, both from the implant team and the manufacturer (AB in
> this case), is that you do not need to pay for an extended warranty.
> Medicaid will cover that.
>
> You should find out specifically about coverage if a device is LOST. Our
> implant team always mentions the loss coverage from ESCO (spelling??).
>
> I don't think that paying for a warranty would invalidate MA, but once
you
> have paid for that warranty, Medicaid won't pay for anything related to
> equipment. Typically, your primary insurance, if available, pays a portion
> of the cost and Medicaid pays the rest, so a warranty messes stuff up.
> That's the problem they talked about.
>
> FWIW,
>
> Jim
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
> Of ian_and_jen
> Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 10:18 AM
> To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
> Subject: [cicircle] Re: Warranty Question - Cochlear extended warranty and
> medicaid in PA?
>
> Hi
>
> I pulled up this old message via the search function and would love any
> input around the Cochlear warranty and medical assistance in PA.
>
> I haven't been here in forever - mostly b/c our daughter is doing so great
> that I haven't had any questions! Guess I should visit more often in case
I
> could help any newer parents out, though - will try to be around more.
>
> Anyway, Carys is almost 3 years out from receiving her freedom implant and
> the warranty is due to expire. We were told by our audiologist that since
> she has MA as her secondary insurance we should NOT get the extended
> warranty from Cochlear b/c it could invalidate her MA (?) - something
along
> if we paid for the warranty ourself it would be a problem.
>
> So, if you are/were in this situation, what did you do? Any feedback is
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks!
> Jennifer
>
>
> --- In XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, "Rebecca Weaver" wrote:
>
>> Hi Everyone!
>> My 4 year old son has a Nucleus Freedom BTE and his 3 year initial
>>
> warranty
>
>> is about to expire. I was wondering if anyone did NOT purchase the
>>
> extended
>
>> warranty from Cochlear Corp and relied on their private insurance and/or
>> secondary insurance for repairs/problems (especially those of you living
>>
> in
>
>> PA and other states that have Medical Assistance as insurance). I
>>
> contacted
>
>> both of our insurance companies and they stated that they will cover
>>
> repairs
>
>> if "medically necessary". We had an audiologist tell us that basically
>>
> the
>
>> only difference was with the Cochlear warranty you get the repaired
>> equipment pretty quickly, if you go through insurance you'll have to wait
>> for authorizations etc. We have a lot of backup equipment (another
>> processor, 3 or more controllers, 4 coils, etc) so unless both processors
>>
> go
>
>> at the same time we can wait for repairs. We have replaced everything
>>
> more
>
>> times than I can count in the 3 years although it's gotten better now
that
>>
>
>
>> he's older. Thanks for any input.
>>
>> Becky
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
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>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for
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posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups
Links
>
>
>
>
>
------------------------------------
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posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups
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------------------------------------
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posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups
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Messages in this topic (16)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4a. Don't know what to do.....
Posted by: "Kim" brakim1@bluemarble.net kimgbys
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 8:43 am ((PDT))
O.k. Max passed his newborn hearing screen. Diagnosed as profound deaf at 17 mos. First implant at 27 mos (activated). He's been attending an oral/deaf school (pre-school to kindergarten) since he was two years old, before he was implanted. Now he is 5. At IEP meeting, our school district wanted him back, all teachers and therapists at school say he needs to stay. He still has language issues; leaving out articles, auditory memory gaps, etc. He's 1 year behind expressively. So at IEP they agree to meet in April or May. My school district is saying he can go back to oral/deaf school for 1/2 year of kindergarten but then they want him mainstreamed in January of 2011 at our school for kindergarten. Oral/Deaf says he needs another year and then the gaps should be closed a little further and then go back. I do know that I DO NOT want to transfer him in the middle of the year, I think it would be a killer on him socially (everyone has routine, friends, he's different, etc.) SLP and TOD have never had a child with implants at our mainstream school. We did go to our school's kindergarten round-up yesterday and of course Max is way ahead of everyone academically because we're so small and rural and hillbillyish there's no pre-schools at all here. The kindy teacher he would have is really good and she thinks he will be fine. I'm sure my school will give me everything asked for but I'm scared he'll fall behind and never get caught up. (SLP has said "Seriously, will he ever be caught up, he's deaf. And yes, I really thought about smacking her but instead buzzzed "wrong answer"). So what should I do? Send? Fight to keep him one more year at oral/deaf school? They could understand everything he was saying his speech is good mostly language gaps. Kindy teacher at deaf/oral school said that if he hasn't learned to use "and, the etc." and other articles in sentences by incidental learning yet, he's not going to, he has to be taught. I'm so confused so I would like a few opinions.
Thanks, Kim
Max 5 years Bilateral Freedoms
Messages in this topic (3)
________________________________________________________________________
4b. Re: Don't know what to do.....
Posted by: "Julia Wilson" wilson.feit@yahoo.com wilson.feit
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 10:46 am ((PDT))
Man, that SLP scares me! How far apart are the schools? Is there any chance he could be mainstreamed in the fall but continue to receive services from the oral/deaf school staff? Can you make the case that he needs specialized therapy from people who are trained and experienced with deaf children with CIs (i.e. *not* the SLP at the mainstream school)? Or, since he'll be mainstreamed eventually and you'll have to work with the SLP and TOD eventually, maybe his pull-out therapy could be a joint venture involving them and some of the staff at the oral/deaf school, and hopefully the SLP and TOD would learn something in the process.
It's one thing to say that there are language areas where he needs direct instruction (duh!), but none of his teachers or therapists should have low expectations for him -- and if they do, they need to be educated. At one of our early IFSP meetings, we wanted to have the longterm goal that Ben would have age-appropriate articulation by the time he started school, and our SLP said, Well, he'll always talk with a deaf accent. (Can you tell that she has absolutely no experience with CIs either?) Now, I've got nothing against a "deaf accent" -- to the contrary, I'm amazed at how clearly people who have never had much access to sound are able to speak, through sheer hard work. But there are a lot of therapists out there who have no idea how to work with a child who is deaf but *does* have good access to sound via a CI -- they don't fully appreciate either the potential or the hurdles. Can you make the case that in the short term, your son needs
therapists who do have that expertise, and that in the long term the SLP and TOD at the mainstream school need to develop that expertise?
Julia
Parent of Ben (b. 10-19-07), AB CI in right ear (July 2008), aided left, www.orange-b.blogspot.com
--- On Wed, 4/7/10, Kim wrote:
From: Kim
Subject: [cicircle] Don't know what to do.....
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Date: Wednesday, April 7, 2010, 3:41 PM
O.k. Max passed his newborn hearing screen. Diagnosed as profound deaf at 17 mos. First implant at 27 mos (activated). He's been attending an oral/deaf school (pre-school to kindergarten) since he was two years old, before he was implanted. Now he is 5. At IEP meeting, our school district wanted him back, all teachers and therapists at school say he needs to stay. He still has language issues; leaving out articles, auditory memory gaps, etc. He's 1 year behind expressively. So at IEP they agree to meet in April or May. My school district is saying he can go back to oral/deaf school for 1/2 year of kindergarten but then they want him mainstreamed in January of 2011 at our school for kindergarten. Oral/Deaf says he needs another year and then the gaps should be closed a little further and then go back. I do know that I DO NOT want to transfer him in the middle of the year, I think it would be a killer on him socially (everyone has routine, friends, he's
different, etc.) SLP and TOD have never had a child with implants at our mainstream school. We did go to our school's kindergarten round-up yesterday and of course Max is way ahead of everyone academically because we're so small and rural and hillbillyish there's no pre-schools at all here. The kindy teacher he would have is really good and she thinks he will be fine. I'm sure my school will give me everything asked for but I'm scared he'll fall behind and never get caught up. (SLP has said "Seriously, will he ever be caught up, he's deaf. And yes, I really thought about smacking her but instead buzzzed "wrong answer"). So what should I do? Send? Fight to keep him one more year at oral/deaf school? They could understand everything he was saying his speech is good mostly language gaps. Kindy teacher at deaf/oral school said that if he hasn't learned to use "and, the etc." and other articles in sentences by incidental learning yet, he's not going to, he
has to be taught. I'm so confused so I would like a few opinions.
Thanks, Kim
Max 5 years Bilateral Freedoms
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Messages in this topic (3)
________________________________________________________________________
4c. Re: Don't know what to do.....
Posted by: "Jim Ellis" jde1@psu.edu jimmybaud2000
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 11:51 am ((PDT))
Wow.
I'm really concerned about the statement "Oral/Deaf says he needs another
year and then the gaps should be closed a little further and then go back."
If Max is caught up receptively, and is more advanced academically than all
his potential peers, I think that the oral/deaf school needs to up their
expressive targets a LOT. Typically, kids do the receptive stuff first. With
one more year of oral/deaf, he should have all those gaps closed. What's
their plan? More of the same???
Second, any TOD or SLP with any experience at all, regardless if it's with
CI kids, should know exactly how to address the expressive language issues.
It's nothing to do with the CI. It's grammar, vocab, same stuff as all the
other kids.
I don't know how verbal the kids at the oral/deaf program actually are. If
they are comparable to the kids in the potential kindergarten class, that's
great. If not, nothing makes a kid grow faster than trying to work things
out with other kids his age.
What type of measurements do you think you'd use to see if Max is falling
behind? I think you need something very objective. Auditory memory is
something our TOD still works on, so your current one should know of it and
should know how to work on it.
My gut reaction is to make it harder for Max now. Challenge him. Put him in
the mainstream kindergarten, and let everyone know that you expect him to be
exactly on par with all his peers by the end of the year. The SLP should
also know exactly how to address the expressive issues, with some very high
expectation goals.
I'd also be inclined, in the IEP, to request that the SLP at least,
possibly the TOD, attend some kind of seminar/conference/road trip to spend
at least one day in a classroom that has a highly-performing CI kid, in the
same general age bracket as Max. They, of all people, need to see how we
parents expect kids like Max to be.
I think I'd ask for an expressive skills evaluation, at least, before Max
starts regular, mainstream kindergarten. Halfway through the year, I'd ask
for a follow-up eval, to be sure that the expressive gaps are being closed.
If necessary, you can keep him in kindergarten for an extra year, but I
doubt you will find that necessary.
I think the kindergarten teacher will need a bit of a push, too. Lots of
kids don't use articles properly when first starting kindergarten. He will
learn.
I understand your reluctance with leaving the comfortable environment of
the oral/deaf school, but it sure sounds like Max is fully capable of
handling a mainstream placement. It's going to be tough, for the first
couple of weeks, but after that, I think he's going to kick serious butt.
Really.
So, because I'm a long-winded blow-hard, I'm saying send him to the regular
school, and keep him there unless he can't handle it.
Best,
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] On Behalf
Of Kim
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 11:42 AM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: [cicircle] Don't know what to do.....
O.k. Max passed his newborn hearing screen. Diagnosed as profound deaf at
17 mos. First implant at 27 mos (activated). He's been attending an
oral/deaf school (pre-school to kindergarten) since he was two years old,
before he was implanted. Now he is 5. At IEP meeting, our school district
wanted him back, all teachers and therapists at school say he needs to stay.
He still has language issues; leaving out articles, auditory memory gaps,
etc. He's 1 year behind expressively. So at IEP they agree to meet in
April or May. My school district is saying he can go back to oral/deaf
school for 1/2 year of kindergarten but then they want him mainstreamed in
January of 2011 at our school for kindergarten. Oral/Deaf says he needs
another year and then the gaps should be closed a little further and then go
back. I do know that I DO NOT want to transfer him in the middle of the
year, I think it would be a killer on him socially (everyone has routine,
friends, he's different, e!
tc.) SLP and TOD have never had a child with implants at our mainstream
school. We did go to our school's kindergarten round-up yesterday and of
course Max is way ahead of everyone academically because we're so small and
rural and hillbillyish there's no pre-schools at all here. The kindy
teacher he would have is really good and she thinks he will be fine. I'm
sure my school will give me everything asked for but I'm scared he'll fall
behind and never get caught up. (SLP has said "Seriously, will he ever be
caught up, he's deaf. And yes, I really thought about smacking her but
instead buzzzed "wrong answer"). So what should I do? Send? Fight to keep
him one more year at oral/deaf school? They could understand everything he
was saying his speech is good mostly language gaps. Kindy teacher at
deaf/oral school said that if he hasn't learned to use "and, the etc." and
other articles in sentences by incidental learning yet, he's not going to,
he has to be taught. I'm s!
o confused so I would like a few opinions.
Thanks, Kim
Max 5 years Bilateral Freedoms
------------------------------------
Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for
research, publication, etc., without the express consent of the person who
posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes. Yahoo! Groups
Links
Messages in this topic (3)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5a. When to go bilateral and closing off the eustachian tube
Posted by: "jeniowastate" jn_isu@yahoo.com jeniowastate
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 8:43 am ((PDT))
HI all,
I have posted on this before so hopefully it is not getting old, but as we learn more...I have more questions. We went back to see Landri's surgeon yesterday in hopes of having a fluid free ear so that we can complete the implant on the right side (Landri's left implant was activated on 11-23-09 and she is 16 months old now). They said that the ear looked "not too bad". they could not see any fluid, but the ear drum was barely moving. Her ear has been basically the same everytime they look at it for the last 6 months. She has never had an ear infection, but just occassionally a bit of fluid and her ear drum not moving like they would like. Her surgeon proposed the following game plan....surgery in 2 weeks. If he gets in there and there is some fluid or "grainy material" then he will remove the eardrum and close off the eustachian tube. Then 2 months later he will go back in and place the implant. If he gets into surgery and there is no fluid then he will just place the implant. I know I have asked this before on the circle and it did not seem like this was a very popular procedure by other surgeons. Has anyone's child had their eardrum removed and the eustachian tube closed off? My struggles....
- could she use the eardrum for future science?
- is it worth trying to get a second opinion at another center?
- should we just hold off on finishing the right ear until she is older (our pediatrician said she could grow out of the issue when she is 3 or 4)
- what are the pluses and minuses to having her implants activated close together vs years apart? Can other parents chime in on their experience with sequential bilaterals being 6 months apart or 3 years apart? I wonder if Landri's experience/success will be different if we wait?
Thanks! I know I have asked some of these questions before, but I know we are always getting new members.
Jennifer
Messages in this topic (3)
________________________________________________________________________
5b. Re: When to go bilateral and closing off the eustachian tube
Posted by: "Karen Binette" klbinette@gmail.com karen.binette
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 9:00 am ((PDT))
Hi Jennifer,
I'm really not able to answer most of your questions as far as waiting to do
the second implant as my son has only been turned on in his left for about a
month, and if everything goes well will be impanted in early May on the
right.
I did want to say though, that I have heard that it is possible for an ear
not to fully develope until 7 years of age.
Sorry I couldn't be more help.
Good Luck!
On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 11:40 AM, jeniowastate wrote:
>
>
> HI all,
>
> I have posted on this before so hopefully it is not getting old, but as we
> learn more...I have more questions. We went back to see Landri's surgeon
> yesterday in hopes of having a fluid free ear so that we can complete the
> implant on the right side (Landri's left implant was activated on 11-23-09
> and she is 16 months old now). They said that the ear looked "not too bad".
> they could not see any fluid, but the ear drum was barely moving. Her ear
> has been basically the same everytime they look at it for the last 6 months.
> She has never had an ear infection, but just occassionally a bit of fluid
> and her ear drum not moving like they would like. Her surgeon proposed the
> following game plan....surgery in 2 weeks. If he gets in there and there is
> some fluid or "grainy material" then he will remove the eardrum and close
> off the eustachian tube. Then 2 months later he will go back in and place
> the implant. If he gets into surgery and there is no fluid then he will just
> place the implant. I know I have asked this before on the circle and it did
> not seem like this was a very popular procedure by other surgeons. Has
> anyone's child had their eardrum removed and the eustachian tube closed off?
> My struggles....
>
> - could she use the eardrum for future science?
> - is it worth trying to get a second opinion at another center?
> - should we just hold off on finishing the right ear until she is older
> (our pediatrician said she could grow out of the issue when she is 3 or 4)
> - what are the pluses and minuses to having her implants activated close
> together vs years apart? Can other parents chime in on their experience with
> sequential bilaterals being 6 months apart or 3 years apart? I wonder if
> Landri's experience/success will be different if we wait?
>
> Thanks! I know I have asked some of these questions before, but I know we
> are always getting new members.
>
> Jennifer
>
>
>
--
Karen Binette
Independent AVON Sales Representative
eRepresentative
(703) 939.7228
karenbinette@gmail.com
www.yourAVON.com/karenbinette
INTRODUCING:
Avon Online Events and eParties.
Now either you or your organization can Host either an Avon Online Fund
Raising Event or eParty. It's easy and free.
Earn money or Avon products for your self, group, or organization without
all the the hassle of collecting money or delivering orders.
Contact me for details.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Messages in this topic (3)
________________________________________________________________________
5c. Re: When to go bilateral and closing off the eustachian tube
Posted by: "Julia Wilson" wilson.feit@yahoo.com wilson.feit
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 11:08 am ((PDT))
This is an difficult choice. I would vote in favor of getting a second opinion. I recall that when you brought this up before, we didn't hear from anybody who had heard of this procedure, and the general consensus was that it seemed a bit extreme. Maybe it's just a rare situation and your current surgeon is right, but I'd want to hear it from somebody else first. For one thing, if the second opinion concurs with the first, then you'll be so much more confident going ahead with the procedure and you won't be forever wondering.
If indeed the second opinion is that you shouldn't implant without closing off the tube, then you might want to push for some diagnostics -- exactly where is the fluid coming from, exactly why is the eardrum not moving, what's causing this, what's the likelihood and timeframe for it clearing up on its own. Maybe it's impossible to answer all these questions, but I'd want someone to spend a bit of time trying before deciding whether to do it now or wait. Yeah, they'll say, "Well, we just don't know what's causing it." You might need to push pretty hard to get them to look harder. And while there are downsides to repeat CTs and MRIs and whatever other imaging they might need to do, under these circumstances it would be worth it if it gets you some more information to work with.
If you're confident it will clear up within a couple of years, maybe it's worth waiting, just on the old "save what you can for future technology" premise. If you're not too confident, or if it would be a longer timeframe, then I think the clear benefits of early bilateral hearing outweigh the potential benefits of waiting. My two cents. Good luck.
Julia
Parent of Ben (b. 10-19-07), AB CI in right ear (July 2008), aided left, www.orange-b.blogspot.com
--- On Wed, 4/7/10, jeniowastate wrote:
From: jeniowastate
Subject: [cicircle] When to go bilateral and closing off the eustachian tube
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Date: Wednesday, April 7, 2010, 3:40 PM
HI all,
I have posted on this before so hopefully it is not getting old, but as we learn more...I have more questions. We went back to see Landri's surgeon yesterday in hopes of having a fluid free ear so that we can complete the implant on the right side (Landri's left implant was activated on 11-23-09 and she is 16 months old now). They said that the ear looked "not too bad". they could not see any fluid, but the ear drum was barely moving. Her ear has been basically the same everytime they look at it for the last 6 months. She has never had an ear infection, but just occassionally a bit of fluid and her ear drum not moving like they would like. Her surgeon proposed the following game plan....surgery in 2 weeks. If he gets in there and there is some fluid or "grainy material" then he will remove the eardrum and close off the eustachian tube. Then 2 months later he will go back in and place the implant. If he gets into surgery and there is no fluid then he will
just place the implant. I know I have asked this before on the circle and it did not seem like this was a very popular procedure by other surgeons. Has anyone's child had their eardrum removed and the eustachian tube closed off? My struggles... .
- could she use the eardrum for future science?
- is it worth trying to get a second opinion at another center?
- should we just hold off on finishing the right ear until she is older (our pediatrician said she could grow out of the issue when she is 3 or 4)
- what are the pluses and minuses to having her implants activated close together vs years apart? Can other parents chime in on their experience with sequential bilaterals being 6 months apart or 3 years apart? I wonder if Landri's experience/success will be different if we wait?
Thanks! I know I have asked some of these questions before, but I know we are always getting new members.
Jennifer
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Messages in this topic (3)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6a. Re: Advance Bionics : PSP, BTE with Kinderclip
Posted by: "Bob" stahlbk@yahoo.ca stahlbk
Date: Wed Apr 7, 2010 12:05 pm ((PDT))
Hi,
We are from Canada.
bob
>
> Are you in Canada or Europe? I don't think Clear Voice is available in the US yet. We're keeping the BWPs for our 2 year old until Clear Voice comes out.
>
> Susan
Messages in this topic (9)
Under no circumstances are the comments on this list to be used for research, publication, etc., without the express consent of the person who posted. This list is not to be used for commercial purposes.
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