There are about 27.8 million people with hearing disabilities in mainland China, and cochlear implants are currently an effective treatment for deafness. However, the medical costs of cochlear implants can easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, which discourages many patients.
Cochlear implants are covered by health insurance
The maximum reimbursement can reach 450,000
In recent years, more than 10 provinces such as Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang have successively included cochlear implants in the scope of medical insurance reimbursement, with a maximum payment standard of up to 450,000 yuan. Since Jiangxi added cochlear implants to medical insurance in September last year, more than 170 patients have been treated.
At Jiangxi Provincial Children's Hospital, the eight-month-old baby Xiaorui, who is undergoing a hearing test, had a cochlear implant last month. After a month of recovery, we are now preparing for booting.
After hearing the sound, Xiao Rui, who was originally noisy, immediately quieted down, staring around with big eyes to search for the source of the sound. When everyone happily clapped their hands and called the child's name, Xiaorui would quickly turn around.
Xiaorui's father Chen Jian: The mood must be very excited and happy, at least he can hear the voice of the world like normal people in the future.
When he was born, Xiaorui failed the hearing test. A few months later, Xiaorui's parents took him to Jiangxi Provincial Children's Hospital, where he was diagnosed with congenital total deafness in both ears, and under the current technical conditions, the best treatment was cochlear implantation, but the treatment cost of 450,000 yuan made Xiaorui's parents difficult.
Xiaorui's home is in rural Yingtan, Jiangxi, his father works outside, and his mother works as a farmer at home. At a time when it is at a loss, Jiangxi has included cochlear implants in the scope of medical insurance reimbursement since September last year, with an average reimbursement rate of about 70%. For low-income families like Xiaorui, the reimbursement rate can reach 90%.
Xiaorui's father Chen Jian: The original price was more than 540,000 yuan, and now it is included in the medical insurance, and the local Disabled Persons' Federation will help us reimburse part of it, as well as the subsistence allowance, all of which will be reimbursed, and our own self-payment is about 378,000.
Peng Xin, Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Jiangxi Provincial Children's Hospital: After the implementation of the new medical insurance policy, more than 120 hearing-impaired families have been treated in Jiangxi Provincial Children's Hospital, and their average cost is about 244000000 yuan, and the reimbursement ratio is about 70%~90%, 90% of which are for families with special financial difficulties, so that he can diagnose, treat and recover at the first time.
According to reports, cochlear implantation can restore part of the hearing of deaf patients, and after language training, normal communication can be resumed. The age of 3 is the golden period of auditory center development, and once the diagnosis of hearing impairment in infants and young children is made, cochlear implants should be implanted as soon as possible.
National Health Insurance Administration:
Cochlear implants are included in the scope of centralized procurement
The proportion of cochlear implants in mainland China is low, with only about 50,000 implants per year. Because of the high cost of treatment, patients may have to pay a significant out-of-pocket cost for a cochlear implant, even if it is covered by Medicare in some places. In order to greatly reduce the burden on medical insurance funds and patients, the National Health Insurance Administration said that in the next step, high-value medical consumables such as cochlear implants will be included in the scope of centralized procurement.
Yan Qinghui, Deputy Director of the National Medical Security Administration: In the next step, the medical insurance department will vigorously promote the expansion and quality improvement of pharmaceutical centralized procurement, continue to expand the coverage of centralized procurement, and carry out a new batch of centralized procurement of state-organized drugs and high-value medical consumables, and we will include high-value medical consumables such as cochlear implants in the scope of centralized procurement.
It is understood that since 2018, the national centralized drug procurement has been implemented, and the average price of centralized procurement drugs has decreased by more than 50% through the group purchase method of "exchanging volume for price".
The high price of cochlear implants is the main obstacle to its inclusion in medical insurance, if the price can be greatly reduced through centralized procurement, the possibility of including it in medical insurance across the country will increase, and hearing-impaired patients will receive a substantial price reduction and medical insurance reimbursement, especially in the golden period of auditory center development of hearing-impaired children within 3 years old, cochlear implant inclusion in centralized procurement will enable them to get treatment as soon as possible, and hearing training and language expression training are expected to produce better results.
Jiangxi medical insurance has been included in the scope of payment
How do I apply?
In today's era of rapid technological change, cochlear implant technology is gradually becoming a ray of hope for patients with severe, very severe and total deafness to rebuild their hearing. Cochlear implant technology directly stimulates the patient's residual auditory nerve by simulating the natural hearing process of the human body, converting sound signals in the environment into electrical signals, bypassing the outer ear, middle ear and damaged cochlear hair cells through implanted electrodes, so that the patient can re-perceive the world of sound.
At present, Jiangxi Province has included cochlear implants in the scope of medical insurance payment, bringing good news to many hearing-impaired people and their families. The medical insurance payment standard is 155395 yuan, and the patient's expenses within the standard can be shared with the medical insurance fund in proportion, which greatly reduces the financial burden of patients.
Cochlear implant technology is suitable for patients of all ages, from infants to the elderly, who can be considered for implantation if their physical condition allows. Experts point out that the younger the age, the better the implant effect, but it is not recommended to perform surgery for children under 6 months of age. For elderly patients with deafness, cochlear implantation can also be performed as long as the general condition, especially the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular and pulmonary functions, can tolerate general anesthesia and surgery. Regardless of age, deaf patients should be treated early.
It is important to note that for people with cochlear loss, severe internal auditory canal stenosis, middle ear infection, cochlear fractures, psychiatric patients, and those with contraindications to conventional surgical procedures, it is necessary to follow the doctor's advice and avoid blind implantation.
In order to further promote cochlear implant technology and help more people with hearing impairment regain their voices, the relevant departments have launched the Cochlear Implant Assistance Program, which aims to provide financial assistance and technical support to eligible people with hearing impairment to help them get out of the silent world.
At present, the registration channel has been opened on the Home of the "Ganfutong" platform, and hearing-impaired people in need can enter the Home to participate in the registration and apply for special assistance.
How to apply
1. Download the "Ganfutong" APP from the application market or search for "Ganfutong" from Alipay to enter the platform.
2. Click on the Home to sign up for the Cochlear Implant Assistance Program, read and agree to the registration instructions, and click to participate in the registration.
3. Fill in the relevant information according to the prompts on the page, click Register Now, and complete the application submission.
4. For eligible patients, the staff will reply as soon as possible.
Source: Jiangxi Health, People's Daily client, Ganfutong
Editor: Huang Menglin
Reviewer: Chen Shirui
Issued: Daley Red
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