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November 28, 2007
Bill Proposed to Have State Cover Cochlear Implant Surgery
About one year ago, the only thing Troy Nguyen would say to his school secretary was the word "fish." Now, with the help of a new hearing device, a formerly shy young boy has turned into a chatterbox.
Nguyen, an eight-year-old from Lowell, was born almost completely deaf and used a clunky hearing aid that precluded him from playing sports and participating in OTHER school activities.
Last year, just two weeks before Christmas, Nguyen got the gift of a lifetime, a cochlear implant from the Boston-based Gift of Hearing Foundation.
Now he likes to talk about the Red Sox and the Patriots, and was excited about his ninja costume this Halloween.
"His vocabulary improves everyday," said Nicole Leitow, his teacher at the S. Christa McAuliffe Elementary School. "He's very much getting socially what he's supposed to be getting."
Now, Rep. James B. Eldridge has filed a bill that would increase the amount of health insurance coverage for children in need of cochlear implants. If passed, operational costs, post treatment services and the $60,000 device would all be covered by Massachusetts Medicaid.
The cochlear implant for Nguyen, also know as a "bionic ear," is a surgical treatment for hearing loss that works like an artificial human cochlea in the inner ear, increasing the signal from the ear to the brain. It is different from a hearing aid, which simply amplifies sound.
"Any child born into poverty is effectively prohibited from getting this service," said Eldridge, a board member who joined The Gift of Hearing Foundation two years ago.
After meeting with a few of the families, he said hundreds of people that are hearing impaired or deaf would benefit from this service.
Founder Eileen Jones, who lost her hearing at the age of 45, described being deaf as living in a glass box, able to see the world happening, but unable to participate in the things around her.
"The implant basically gave me my life back when I lost my hearing as an adult," she said. "The most important thing to me was human interaction. Being a part of my family and community."
According to Dr. Daniel Lee, director of the cochlear implant program at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Connecticut and New York provide approximately $30,000 and $60,000, respectively, for cochlear implant patients, while Massachusetts Medicaid provides $247.46.
Dr. Lee described the Commonwealth's attitude toward cochlear implants as discouraging. He said that Bill 3855 would allow these children to matriculate out of special education departments, saving the commonwealth both money and resources.
"We aren't trying to raise money to find a cure; it's here. [Now] we have to get that cure to people," said Jones.
http://www.weeklydig.com/news-opinions/news-us/200711/bill-proposed-have-state-cover-cochlear-implant-surgery
Posted by 4HL on November 28, 2007 7:07 AM
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