If you want to help with Hannah...

In regards to the previous post, there have been several people who have asked what they can do. There are a couple of ways you could help us. We would like to flood SelectHealth with emails and letters to let them know that the public finds their lack of coverage unacceptable. There are several ways you can do this.1. You can email the SelectHealth public relations department. The contacts there are:

Jason Burgess: Jason.burgess@selecthealth.org

Greg Reid: greg.reid@selecthealth.org

2. You can mail a letter to them at:

SelectHealth
4646 W. Lake Park Boulevard
P.O. Box 30192
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84130-0192

3. When you view the story on KSL.com you can post comments on the board there that I am sure they will see.

4. Forward this letter to anyone that you think would be willing to help us in this letter writing campaign.

Some things to remember when you write:

· Bilateral cochlear implants are recognized as medically necessary and are routinely covered in all 49 other states. Utah is lagging woefully behind in covering these implants at a severe disadvantage to the people who live in this state. It is unfair to those living in Utah not to have bilateral cochlear implants covered.

· This is a procedure that would help Hannah in all aspects of her life. One great concern is for her safety since she cannot localize sound. If she was hit by a car because she couldn’t tell what direction it was coming from it would cost SelectHealth much more for a week in the ICU than it would to prevent injuries (or death) by paying for the cochlear implant.

· This is a very low incidence procedure. Not all deaf people even want an implant. The number of people wanting this procedure is not enough to even make an impact on SelectHealth’s bottom line. Their comment that “Cost increases, even a slight percentage, can make coverage unaffordable for others" is disingenuous since so few individuals would need this surgery.

· It would save SelectHealth money to cover bilateral implants now because then patients could have both ears done at the same time. This would mean only one hospital stay, one doctor bill, one anesthesiologist’s bill etc. If they decide to cover bilateral implants later, it would mean they would have all these costs twice for the people now getting implants.

· They said in their denial letter that “we do intend in the coming months to do a thorough re-assessment of the exclusion of bilateral cochlear implants, and will utilize the extensive information that you provided as part of that review.” Please ask them to review their policy now and make the necessary changes to get Utah on par with the rest of the country.

Thank you for your interest in Hannah. We appreciate all you love and support.

Sincerely,

Rob and LeAnn Wankier