COCHLEAR IMPLANTS






OVERVIEW










What's New










Medicare










Medicaid










Other Federal and State Health Plans










Private Plans and Managed Care










Fraud and Abuse










Billing Codes






Disability Rights






Disability Hall of Shame







Sitemap





  Founder

email: reimburse@cochlear.org










[This webpage is still being rebuilt after being destroyed by the web hosting service in January 2008.]

Mark Hobratschk has been called the "best advocate a disabled person can have." As a person with a so-called invisible disability from a 1994 spinal cord injury, Mark understands all too well that the most difficult part of being disabled often isn't your physical limitations, but how you are treated by others.

Mark has used his personal experience to advocate for access to health care for disabled consumers, especially the hearing impaired. Since 1995, he has donated his own time and resources representing persons with hearing loss in their battles with insurance companies.

Mark refuses to take "no" for an answer when it comes to making sure every qualified cochlear implant candidate has access to the only treatment that can restore their hearing. His landmark advocacy efforts brought the invaluable benefits of hearing to literally thousands of profoundly hearing impaired children and adults. Mark got the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to require all Medicaid programs cover cochlear implants for children. He prevailed in three separate hearings before the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) that the manufacturers insisted could never be won, in the process establishing AHCCCS coverage policy. He also took on blatant discrimination from insurers like Utah Medicaid who insisted that deafness "does not cause pain or suffering."

However, one of Mark's most signficant accomplishments was averting a massive denial of cochlear implant speech processing claims by Medicare carriers. After joining the American Speech Language Hearing Association, Mark not only recognized that audiologists had incorrectly billed these claims for years due flaw in Medicare rules, but was able to propose new billing codes to resolve the problem, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in recouped payments. Mark's contribution to the association is immeasurable as reflected by ASHA President Larry Higdon's recognition that Mark did "more for our members in the three years [he was] here than has ever been done."

As shown by the links above, Mark is person whom you either love or hate. And as proven above, your opinion of him depends on whether he was your advocate or opponent.

Mark earned the longtime devotion and admiration of cochlear implant users and association members by being willing to go the mat for them in advocating their causes, even when the issue may be controversial. And he earned the enmity of his opponents for exactly the same reason, which has resulted in the predictable silly resentments or efforts to discredit, including several easily debunked myths and distortions listed above.

Mark is undeterred by such nonsense. He simply believes very strongly that it is the duty of any advocate to zealously represent your client to the fullest extent allowed by the law. He is an advocate who will exclusively represent your best interests and not try to play both sides of the fence. You can trust that Mark will never put his own career interests, friendships, or personal beliefs above the interests of a client. You can trust that Mark will never thrown a client under the bus to preserve his image.

Mark has proven this throughout his career, as detailed above. He successfully lobbied for many years for the right of Arizona Medicaid adults to have the same opportunity to hear as everyone else. In the most controversial case, no cochlear implant center wanted to give Mark’s client that same opportunity, only because he was born deaf. This means it would cost twice as much to implant him, and meant that under Medicaid the hospital would lose twice as much. Despite appeals in the media, no one would implant him, claiming that he wasn’t as deserving because he wouldn’t benefit as much. Mark refused to accept such discrimination, eventually winning a hearing on his behalf.

Despite intense opposition, Mark convinced Cochlear Americas in 1995 to let him represent cochlear implant candidates at insurance hearings to overturn their denials. He flew all over the country never losing a case and transforming the services Cochlear could provide to its customers (see above). Though Cochlear prevented him from doing so on behalf of its competitor Med El, it was Mark and Kevin Gaudette’s idea to create a neutral entity in 1996 that could provide such representation while being funded by all three manufacturers. This idea was eventually used by Sherri Byrne Haber and the Let Them Hear Foundation.

Mark continues to donate his time and services towards representing clients fighting “unwinnable” cases. Because of the demands of his job and family, he only handles a very limited number of cases. These are typically complex cases where clients truly have no place else to turn. If you were denied any services related to a cochlear implant and have been told to “give up” or “just deal with it”, feel free to contact Mark at reimburse@cochlear.org for a confidential discussion of your case.

Mark handles only insurance appeals (including Medicare and Medicaid) or administrative agency complaints.