Funding is available for the Speech Enhancer
Important Speech Enhancer Benefits For Funding Agencies
What are People Saying about Funding for the Speech Enhancer?
Why do Insurance Companies and Medicaid Pay for the Speech Enhancer?
Important Speech Enhancer Benefits For Funding Agencies
- Medical necessity for accurate diagnosis and treatment of all medical conditions
- Medical necessity for conserving person's strength - dramatic fatigue reduction
- High acceptance rate - person uses own voice
- Useful in real world - work place & school
- Auto-Programs itself to the person's speech
- Thorough functional evaluation determines eligibility and potential for improvement
- Prolonged speech therapy not required
- Abstract cognitive skills not required
- Minimal training- on/ off volume control
How do I get funding?
Funding is available because of the Speech Enhancer's real world functionality, in all environments. Third-party funding has been approved by many sources: insurance, school-funding, the Veterans administration, CHAMPUS, for equal access to telephone, Medicare and Medicaid.
The Speech Enhancer helps agencies meet their financial goals because it enables people to reduce fatigue, keep or obtain employment, reduce their assisted care and even live independently. With tight budgets and managed care, agencies are seeking cost-effective ways to reduce medical risk & costs and help clients achieve independence.
It is essential to document medical necessity for Medicaid and insurance. Call a Voicewave Funding Coach for specific funding help: 1-877-786-2266.
Over the years, Voicewave has experienced unprecedented success with funding for the Speech Enhancer. The Funding Coaches will lead customers through the funding maze.
The last step is to submit complete documentation, in writing, to the funding source: speech language pathologist's report, physician's order and system quotation.
Only thorough documentation will suffice. Call Voicewave at 1-877-786-2266 for specific funding assistance. There is no expense to find out what will be covered.
What are people saying about funding for the Speech Enhancer?
"We were quite surprised when Blue Cross paid for this device because we had such a hassle over my daughter's new wheelchair approval last year. But we followed the Voicewave instructions to the letter... and the approval did not take long at all." ~ Mother of child with developmental disabilities.
"They told us ours was the first Speech Enhancer product to be funded by Medicaid in this state. It took longer than usual to process, but it was worth it" ~ Mother of child with Cerebral Palsy.
"The doctors at my veterans hospital were very helpful. I got my system approved and shipped within two weeks and I REALLY like it! " ~ Gentleman with laryngectomy.
"Funding was not difficult. Medicaid went through the first time we submitted." ~ Speech Language Pathologist
"My HMO paid for my device... It is important to be persistent in pursuing funding." ~ Gentleman with ALS
""I want to thank you for your assistance in getting our funding. We did not know if they would cover this, but the funding person who helped us guided us step by step and was most courteous. Thanks again." ~ Wife of gentleman with Parkinson's.
Why do Insurance Companies and Medicaid Pay for the Speech Enhancer?
The Speech Enhancer Answers a Long-felt, Unanswered Medical Need
The Speech Enhancer is a Speech Generating Device
Medical Experts Recognize the Speech Enhancer as a Medical Necessity
The Speech Enhancer is a Medical Necessity Because It Enables Medical Communication
The Speech Enhancer is a Medical Necessity because It Reduces Fatigue
The Speech Enhancer is a Medical Necessity Because It Reduces Patient's Frustration Level
The Speech Enhancer is Durable Medical Equipment with a One-Year Manufacturer's Warranty
The Speech Enhancer Does Not Require Programming
Voicewave has Network of Evaluators
The Speech Enhancer Is Funded by Insurance Companies, Government Agencies and International Agencies
Speech Enhancer Products Answer a Long-felt, Unanswered Medical Need
The medical literature shows that speech language pathologists have sought a prosthetic solution for people with unclear speech and low-volume, even inaudible voice for the last 20 years. This search intensified in the last several years because of the extreme pressure due to lessened funding for therapy and higher care costs to maintain and care for these challenges. Speech language pathologists are quite vocal in their appreciation of this unique technology and are well aware that it is unique in its ability to replace the person's voice with a new, more intelligible prosthetic voice.
These same funding pressures demanded a functional solution that works in all noise environments. Amplifiers have been the only alternative and they are not functional for these people.
- Amplifiers do not work in a noisy setting for a soft or unclear voice
- Amplifiers do not clarify speech in any way; they can actually worsen unclear speech
- Amplifiers do not function at all for aphonic (inaudible) voice
Speech Enhancer Products are Durable Medical Equipment
The Speech Enhancer is an SGD. It is capable of using the nonfunctional remnants of a person's speech, whether unclear, soft or even inaudible, to synthesize a new functional voice. The Speech Enhancer provides a useful, functional voice where none exists - the ultimate purpose of a Speech Generating Device.
Many funding agencies over the previous five years have funded the Speech Enhancer in the category of durable medical equipment. These include Champus, the Veteran's Administration, insurance companies - including HMOs - and Medicaid programs in many states.
Funding for the Speech Enhancer has also been obtained internationally in countries with socialized medicine such as Canada. This was thought to be impossible, but it is based on the efficacy of the instrument and medical necessity.
Medical Experts Recognize Speech Enhancer Products as Medical Necessities
Physicians, speech scientists and speech language pathologists from leading institutions worldwide specifically recommend the Speech Enhancer as a DME voice augmentation for medical necessity.
The efficacy of the Speech Enhancer has been documented in independent research published in a peer-reviewed professional medical journal by Drs. Jay Rosenbek and Denise Cariski. Dr. Rosenbek's distinguished career has been recognized with the "Lifetime Achievement of Excellence in Clinical Practice" award by the American Speech Language Hearing Association, that professional organization's highest honor.
Speech Enhancer Products are Medical Necessities Because They Enable Medical Communication
The single most important reason the Speech Enhancer is funded is that it enables communication with a physician and other health professionals by giving a person a new functional SGD voice. The Speech Enhancer is extremely effective for conveying medical symptoms to the physician. In times of illness, stress builds and every person's voice is subject to change and degradation. If the patient's normal speech is nonfunctional to begin with - unclear and/or too soft - then when illness or emergency situations strike their speech may well become totally unintelligible to the physician. Some physicians suggest they cannot be accountable for outcome on a patient who cannot communicate their symptoms nor indicate their wishes in order to participate in and direct their own care.
Speech-challenged patients may attempt to use another person, usually a family member, to interpret for them. Since these family members may understand only a fraction of the communication when the person is healthy, it may be practically impossible for them to translate for the person when they are ill or in an emergency situation. Accuracy of medical communication can be a primary key to effective health care.
Availability of communication is a further issue. It is simply not feasible for a translator to be continuously available during an illness or hospital stay.
Additionally, translators represent a potential problem in the area of privacy. The person's right to privacy is violated if the only way they can be understood - even partially - is through a third party. Advance Directive is a legal right, and a person's wishes often can be communicated effectively only with the Speech Enhancer.
Speech Enhancer Products are Medical Necessities because They Reduce Fatigue
The aeromechanic efficiency of the Speech Enhancer provides a major benefit to the patient by offloading to the device much of the effort required for speaking. The patient accordingly experiences a reduction in fatigue level, often resulting in a marked increase in available energy. Fatigue reduction may provide the inherent medical benefit of increased resistance to disease and greater endurance to face the physical challenges of disability.
Fatigue reduction is significant for all Speech Enhancer patients. But it is conspicuously obvious for those with reduced volume, since their efforts to be heard in a noisy situation are exceedingly tiring. Yet, it has also been found that there is substantial effort involved in talking for a person whose speech is unclear, even though they have sufficient volume. The Speech Enhancer helps both kinds of clients dramatically reduce their fatigue.
Speech Enhancer Products are Medical Necessities Because They Reduce Patient's Frustration Level
The psychological state of the patient is, of course, an important factor in their coping mechanism and ability to withstand disease. Reducing the patient's frustration level as their physical needs are met is an important contribution to their well being.
Speech Enhancer Products are Durable Medical Equipment with a One-Year Manufacturer's Warranty
Many years of field research and evolution in design and development ensure that the Speech Enhancer is a durable product. All the microphones are waterproof, so saliva is not a problem. The units themselves are extremely durable and built to withstand institutional use, attendant care and children. Intellectual property issues prohibit making repairs in the field; service and support is provided at Voicewave corporate headquarters, which assures the highest quality of workmanship at a reasonable price. Product life ranges from three to five years.
Speech Enhancer Products Do Not Require Programming
Because the device auto-programs, extensive speech therapy is not required. Once the person is educated to its proper care and the best speech strategies to use with it, they manage quite well on their own. If their voice changes within the acceptable articulation range over time, the device automatically adjusts to their changes in speech; no programming is required.
Voicewave Has a Network of Evaluators
Like any prosthetic, the Speech Enhancer does not work for every client. Please be assured that it is our company policy to require an evaluation with a certified speech language pathologist before the equipment is sold. This evaluation by a third party - with no financial incentive to prescribe - insures that the Speech Enhancer will be recommended only for people who need it. DME dealers are not permitted to evaluate clients; their role is to provide installation and support after the sale.
Voicewave Requires a Functional Evaluation by a Speech Language Pathologist
The Speech Enhancer Evaluation protocol is quite involved in order to accurately measure functionality. First, the client is prepared according to their particular speech and respiratory needs. When the client is fully prepared, the device is tested. The evaluator uses the actual system to identify the person's current and potential use of the aphonic or inaudible components of their speech. Each of the most appropriate microphones is tested with the person to determine which is appropriate for their abilities, lifestyle and aesthetic preferences.
Testing is conducted in a functional noise environment using digitally recorded Activity of Daily Living (ADL) ambient noise environment audiotapes. These tapes are played on special acoustic equipment to exacting decibel levels that precisely replicate the daily communication challenges a person faces in real-world environments - rather than in the isolation of a quiet therapy room. The session is recorded on a specially modified recording system that captures the purest results possible by preventing errors due to automatic volume-control compression.
Recordings are made with and without the Speech Enhancer system using single words, sentences and general conversation, and evaluated using a rating scale. A panel of the client, family, speech professionals and - very importantly - persons who are unfamiliar with the person's speech then makes the assessment. A detailed evaluation protocol and Mayo Clinic rating scale are provided to evaluators.
After this extensive assessment process, the trained, certified speech language pathologist has adequate information to make a recommendation for the surgical, therapeutic or augmentative technology which best serves the client. If the Speech Enhancer technology is recommended, the speech language pathologist has knowledge of all the equipment options available and can determine the best possible equipment configuration for the client's needs. This Certified Evaluator is then also ready to provide speech therapy upon receipt of the device to assure that it is fitted and used properly.
Insurance companies pay for the Speech Enhancer solely based upon medical necessity.
Government agencies pay for the Speech Enhancer solely based upon medical necessity. Champus, Medicaid and the Veterans Administration approve the Speech Enhancer.
The Speech Enhancer has been approved in Canada, which is a socialized medicine country.
Speech Enhancer is a trademark of
Voicewave
Technology Inc.
PO Box 8504
St. Louis, Missouri 63126
1 (877) 786-2266 voice
1 (888) 463-7353 fax
www.SpeechEnhancer.com
Email
us!
Service@SpeechEnhancer.com