July 1998

July 1998

The Voice of Courage
PUBLISHED TO ENLIGHTEN THE NEW LARYNGECTOMEES ABOUT THEIR FUTURE LIFE, SINCE MID 1972

By Dean Rosecrans P.O. Box 310 Nampa, Idaho 83653 1-800-237-3699 07/10/98

Medicare Part B | E-Mail | Battery Types |

| Medicare Part B |

I was in Austin at the eight annual TLA conferences, and ran into a situation where laryngectomees have a primary insurance that doesn't pay for Stoma Care Products and the laryngectomee is paying for Part B Medicare. I was asked to find out how they can collect from Medicare.

This is quite costly for the insured who is paying almost $50 per month for Medicare part B with no return. The claims are filed properly but the primary insurance doesn't cover Stoma Care Products. The solution is; the patient must file the claim with the primary insurance company and receive a refusal. This refusal must be submitted to medicare by the patient along with a copy of the supplier's bill.

Remember Medicare pays for Stoma Care Products and whichever supplier you purchase your supplies from must, under penalty of law, file a Medicare claim for you. The supplier need not accept assignment of your Medicare claim. The supplier has 15 months from the date of service to file your Medicare claim. Naturally it is up to you to contact the supplier and see to it the Medicare claim is filed in a timely manner. You should receive your payment within ninety days from the date of service unless it is a first time claim. First time claims are time consuming because all of the information must be correct and in the right place on the form for payment. Once the first Medicare claim is paid for Stoma Care products, all following claims are filed and paid routinely.

Your supplier can file your secondary insurance at the same time the Medicare claim is filed if your secondary insurance information is on file with the supplier. Medicare will forward the secondary claim to the proper insurance company if that company is on Medicare's computer. A supplier cannot file a separate secondary insurance claim.

If you have other Medicare questions that cannot be understood and/or answered call us using one of our 800 numbers.

| Battery Types |

NiCad Nickel Cadmium is the most popular and durable type of rechargeable battery. They are quick to charge, last approximately 700 charge and discharge cycles and work well in extreme temperatures. Unfortunately, Nicad's suffer from "memory effect" if they are not completely discharged each cycle. the memory effect reduces overall capacity and run time of the battery.

The "memory effect" is taken into consideration by Medicare and will buy Medicare Part B recipients two NiCad batteries every six months.

NiMH Nickel Metal Hydride batteries do not suffer from memory effect. Compared to a NiCad battery of equal size, NiMH batteries run for 30% longer on each charge. They are also made from non-toxic metals so they are environmentally friendly. The downside to NiMH technology is overall battery life. These batteries generally last for 400 and discharge cycles.

LiON Lithium Ion is the latest development in portable battery technology. These batteries do not suffer from memory effect. Compared to NiMH of equal size, a LiON will delivery twice the run time from each charge. Unfortunately, these batteries are only available for a limited number of models and are expensive. LiON batteries have a life expectancy of 400 charge and discharge cycles.

Medicare Part B | E-Mail | Battery Types |

| E-Mail |

Have you given any thought to, "talking on the Internet" using your computer? Many of the suppliers have Web sites and/or E-mail addresses.

This is an easy way for a New Laryngectomee with limited telephone voice to communicate directly with a supplier. The Web sites have information on the suppliers' products and services.

With the server we use there is no additional charge for putting on a web-site. If your support group's server is the same as ours every support group should have a web-site and E-mail address. Come on, there must be someone in your group that is computer literate and can get your group to communicate with other groups.

Feed back is what makes things run smoothly. This is the information age and we must become part of it to survive.

Jack Henslee in Stockton, California has put most of the information for the IAL and the sources of supply on the internet. To access this information you need only a computer or a way to get on the net such as one of the TV things. Then type "www.larynxlink.com". This puts you into a giant web-site, which lists the suppliers, support groups and soon will list all of the speech instructors. Get the names of the professionals and lay speech instructors in your area. Ask them to visit your group.

I speak to all types of people with all types of alaryngeal communication every day on the telephone. Our phone people are trained listeners and are very patient. I find that the longer that a person ordering on the telephone takes in making the order the better their speech, be it A/L, T/E or esophageal speech. The old saying that good speech takes practice, practice, practice is true.

Now practice can take many forms. With me it is answering the order telephone early in the morning before our regular people come to work. I find this a good way for me to practice my speech.

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July 1998
The Voice of Courage PUBLISHED TO ENLIGHTEN THE NEW LARYNGECTOMEES ABOUT THEIR FUTURE LIFE, SINCE MID 1972 By Dean Rosecrans P.O. Box 310 Nampa, Idaho 83653 1-800-237-3699 07/10/98
Medicare Part B \| E-Mail \| Battery Types \|
\| Medicare Part B \| I was in Austin at the eight annual TLA conferences, and ran into a situation where laryngectomees have a primary insurance that doesn't pay for Stoma Care Products and the laryngectomee is paying for Part B Medicare. I was asked to find out how they can collect from Medicare. This is quite costly for the insured who is paying almost $50 per month for Medicare part B with no return. The claims are filed properly but the primary insurance doesn't cover Stoma Care Products. The solution is; the patient must file the claim with the primary insurance company and receive a refusal. This refusal must be submitted to medicare by the patient along with a copy of the supplier's bill. Remember Medicare pays for Stoma Care Products and whichever supplier you purchase your supplies from must, under penalty of law, file a Medicare claim for you. The supplier need not accept assignment of your Medicare claim. The supplier has 15 months from the date of service to file your Medicare claim. Naturally it is up to you to contact the supplier and see to it the Medicare claim is filed in a timely manner. You should receive your payment within ninety days from the date of service unless it is a first time claim. First time claims are time consuming because all of the information must be correct and in the right place on the form for payment. Once the first Medicare claim is paid for Stoma Care products, all following claims are filed and paid routinely. Your supplier can file your secondary insurance at the same time the Medicare claim is filed if your secondary insurance information is on file with the supplier. Medicare will forward the secondary claim to the proper insurance company if that company is on Medicare's computer. A supplier cannot file a separate secondary insurance claim. If you have other Medicare questions that cannot be understood and/or answered call us using one of our 800 numbers.		\| Battery Types \| NiCad Nickel Cadmium is the most popular and durable type of rechargeable battery. They are quick to charge, last approximately 700 charge and discharge cycles and work well in extreme temperatures. Unfortunately, Nicad's suffer from "memory effect" if they are not completely discharged each cycle. the memory effect reduces overall capacity and run time of the battery. The "memory effect" is taken into consideration by Medicare and will buy Medicare Part B recipients two NiCad batteries every six months. NiMH Nickel Metal Hydride batteries do not suffer from memory effect. Compared to a NiCad battery of equal size, NiMH batteries run for 30% longer on each charge. They are also made from non-toxic metals so they are environmentally friendly. The downside to NiMH technology is overall battery life. These batteries generally last for 400 and discharge cycles. LiON Lithium Ion is the latest development in portable battery technology. These batteries do not suffer from memory effect. Compared to NiMH of equal size, a LiON will delivery twice the run time from each charge. Unfortunately, these batteries are only available for a limited number of models and are expensive. LiON batteries have a life expectancy of 400 charge and discharge cycles.
Medicare Part B \| E-Mail \| Battery Types \|
\| E-Mail \| Have you given any thought to, "talking on the Internet" using your computer? Many of the suppliers have Web sites and/or E-mail addresses. This is an easy way for a New Laryngectomee with limited telephone voice to communicate directly with a supplier. The Web sites have information on the suppliers' products and services. With the server we use there is no additional charge for putting on a web-site. If your support group's server is the same as ours every support group should have a web-site and E-mail address. Come on, there must be someone in your group that is computer literate and can get your group to communicate with other groups. Feed back is what makes things run smoothly. This is the information age and we must become part of it to survive. Jack Henslee in Stockton, California has put most of the information for the IAL and the sources of supply on the internet. To access this information you need only a computer or a way to get on the net such as one of the TV things. Then type "www.larynxlink.com". This puts you into a giant web-site, which lists the suppliers, support groups and soon will list all of the speech instructors. Get the names of the professionals and lay speech instructors in your area. Ask them to visit your group. I speak to all types of people with all types of alaryngeal communication every day on the telephone. Our phone people are trained listeners and are very patient. I find that the longer that a person ordering on the telephone takes in making the order the better their speech, be it A/L, T/E or esophageal speech. The old saying that good speech takes practice, practice, practice is true. Now practice can take many forms. With me it is answering the order telephone early in the morning before our regular people come to work. I find this a good way for me to practice my speech.