Cochlear Implant Medical Billing

Cochlear Implant Medical Billing

Cochlear implants may become more common in the medical billing world in future years. A recent study from Johns Hopkins university dealt with children with human Cytomegalovirus (CMV) deafness after receiving a cochlear implant surgery. The findings from this study may imply more frequent medical billing reimbursement for the cochlear implant.

CMV deafness is a common a viral causes of hearing loss in children. Not only is hearing affected in infant’s with this virus, but they’re also at risk for developmental neurological defects. Johns Hopkins university would like to correct one of these two problems.

The new cochlear implants study may have a serious impact on medical billing. It was found that cochlear implants in children with CMV deafness have improved speech comprehension. Thirteen children were studied from the Johns Hopkins pediatric unit. All over a period of 48 months these patients were studied and it was found that their perception scores became 4.5 out of 6.

Currently medical billing is infrequent for cochlear implants. The surgery is not very common, and when it is billed, many insurance companies will not provide medical billing reimbursement. Perhaps with this new study from Johns Hopkins university, cochlear implants will have a new impact in the medical world. The more good that is found in these implants, the better chance for medical billing reimbursement.

If your practice performs multiple cochlear implants, this study may be of great worth to you. Everyone knows that the more a patient is responsible for their own medical care, the less practices end up getting paid. If insurance companies would pay partially for cochlear implants, practices would thrive. Medical necessity is a big factor in medical billing reimbursement. If cochlear implants are determined to be medically necessary, perhaps more medical billing reimbursement will be provided.

View all Articles by: Melissa Clark, CCS-P