Neocate

ChicagoChick14

DS is showing signs of having a milk allergy so the pedi put him on Neocate.  She made no mention of insurance covering it and a can (a sample size) is 45 dollars plus tax!  Does anyone else use this or know of something similar that is cheaper?

babybug11

Nutramigen... it's $35 plus tax for a "value size" which lasts about 6 days.

We make 4 (6.5oz) and 2 (4oz) each day.

Luvmy2sons

babybug11:

Nutramigen... it's $35 plus tax for a "value size" which lasts about 6 days.

We make 4 (6.5oz) and 2 (4oz) each day.

And you can get coupons right? Or they don't work on Nutramigen?

sweetMay119

You should check with your insurance company. Mine denied it at first (they typically do), and then I got a note from her GI stating it was medically necessary and they approved it. It really depends how sensitive your LO is to milk, the ones like Nutramigen have the milk protein broken down quite a bit, but only the elemental formulas (Neocate, Elecare) have it broken down to amino acids. There are also special groups on FB where moms sell or trade it for a lot cheaper.

miniray

I BF an MSPI baby but wanted a can of Neocate as a back up.  It cost me 65$ here.  At first my insurance denied my claim.  But then DS' pedi sent them a letter stating that it was medically neccessary for him to have Neocate due to a bovine allergy and then they approved it.  They cover 80% so it was a big help.  Maybe you could try that? 

PinkPeony6210

Definitely try your insurance first.

Rachel*Neocate

I would definitely check with the insurance company, and depending on what state you live in there are actually mandates requiring insurances companines to cover elemental formulas. 

Like a pp mentioned you could try a cheaper formula like Nutramigen or Alimentum, but they are not elemental formulas, they are what's called hydrolysate formulas. That just means that they are only partial broken down and still contains partial milk protein chains.  Some MSPI babies do all right with this kind of formula, but some more sensitive ones (like my LO) need an elemental formula that is completely broken down, no protein chains. 

Anyway, here is some good info from the Neocate website concerning insurance coverage, including a map of what states have current mandates, and sample letters for medical necessity:

https://www.neocate.com/reimbursement/insurance-coverage-map/

https://www.neocate.com/reimbursement/reimbursement-tips/

HTH and good luck!

ChicagoChick14

Rachel thank you SO much!!