A deaf woman who threatened to file a federal lawsuit because her Medicaid provider refused to authorize a cochlear implant will receive the device.
Krysti Hubble, a 27-year-old single mother, was recently notified that Intermountain Health Care will allow her to have the surgery. The electronic instrument stimulates auditory nerve fibers and allows deaf people to hear with training.IHC Access denied Hubble's initial requests for the operation, saying it was not a benefit Medicaid covered. Hubble sought help from the Disability Law Center, which represented her before an IHC grievance committee earlier this year.
"There was lots of ambiguity on the policy," said Daron Cowley, IHC spokesman.
Hubble will receive the implant based on her individual circumstances, he said. A letter Hubble received from IHC Access said it decided her "particular situation, both medically and legally, is such that we will preauthorize" the request.
It's unclear whether her case will pave the way for other hearing-impaired Medicaid recipients to get cochlear implants.
Hubble said she was hoping to change the system so others won't have to fight like she had to.
The Utah Department of Health, which administers Medicaid in Utah, is reviewing the criteria for obtaining the surgery, said Ross Martin, department spokesman. IHC Access also is revising its documentation to expressly address the implants.
"We just want to mirror what the (state) policy is," Cowley said.