Breast pumps

alylove11 · February 2016

I called anthem to see if I can get a free breast pump, and they only offer the hand pump for free. I'm bummed because my medela took a dump. Has anyone else found out what their insurance covers?

MsBeachNJ · February 2016

I emailed my insurance company (Aetna PPO) and they cover an electric Medela double pump in style... there were some other options too but that's the one I'm going with.

alylove11 · February 2016

I believe that's the one I had last. It worked great, but he motor was burning out towards the end of me pumping.

MsBeachNJ · February 2016

@alylove11 after how long did that occur?

alylove11 · February 2016

@MsBeachNJ It lasted me 13 months with pumping quite a bit in the beginning. I had trouble getting my milk in. I also pumped 3x/day at work. I changed my white flappy parts every 4-6 weeks too. The motor sounds sluggish and wasn't as effective.

berky84 · February 2016

QUESTION for STMs who got a breast pump through insurance...

What sort of equipment did you need to get outside of what they provided?

Tawny87 · February 2016

My insurance does the Medela pump in style advanced starter set and ameda pump. I have already received mine.

CopperLane · February 2016

You might be able to pay the difference to get the medela. My insurance will allow me to pay to upgrade to a better pump, or one with more accesories (like the tote bag for medela).

lola6711 · February 2016

I feel pretty lucky because I have full coverage on any pump I choose through BCBS PPO. I wish I would've known that with my first, then I would've had a pump for home and for work, since you qualify for a pump with each pregnancy.

Tawny87 · February 2016

That's awesome @lola6711 ! My BCBS PPO only fully covers two pumps. I was really happy that one of them was the pump in style advanced although the freestyle is what I would have wanted if I had free reign of my selection.

Bear14+ · February 2016

Go to the site and put in your insurance company & state. A list of providers will usually
come up. These providers can get more pumps than only Medela usually. You don't need to contact your insurance company. These third parties do it and Bill your insurance and ship a pump to you.

https://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/insurance-pump-lookup

NLewis1 · February 2016

My insurance covers four different double electrics - the medela PISA (which I got last time and liked just fine), the Hygeia Enjoye, the Ameda and something else. I looked at reviews and basically can't decide between the medela or the Hygeia.

Thinking about trying out the Hygeia this time around - anyone tried it before?

VikingGirl12 · February 2016

joose159 said:

QUESTION for STMs who got a breast pump through insurance...

What sort of equipment did you need to get outside of what they provided?

My insurance covered the whole thing, including parts, cooler, and carry bag. I will only need to buy new pieces this time (the little white flaps and membranes or whatever).

GinnyJ2012 · February 2016

My insurance doesn't cover a pump at all. I bought a pump in style advanced with DS1, and used it for both boys. It started to wear out towards the end of pumping with DS2, and I thought I'd need to buy a new one. My friend called Medela and they said the motor should last 10 years and walked her through getting the pump working well again. I need to break mine out and see if I can do the same thing. I'd rather not spend all that money again.

swflJD · February 2016

I'm a lurker because I have a late May EDD, but I noticed that OP mentioned that Anthem only covered a hand pump. I have Anthem BCBS (you may have something different), but they covered the electric Medela double pump in style plus extra set of milk storage containers 100%. I didn't even have to pay for shipping.

CopperLane · February 2016

swflJD said:

I'm a lurker because I have a late May EDD, but I noticed that OP mentioned that Anthem only covered a hand pump. I have Anthem BCBS (you may have something different), but they covered the electric Medela double pump in style plus extra set of milk storage containers 100%. I didn't even have to pay for shipping.

It really depends on the policy. My BCBS only covers a double electric up to $165 (Medela, spectra, and a few other brands) but won't cover any extra accessories, like storage bags.

amangels2 · February 2016

I called yesterday and my insurance covers the Ameda Double Electric. She didn't know if it covered any accessories and told me to talk to my doctor. I figure I'll ask my midwife at my next appointment on Feb. 25. I am really grateful that my insurance covers the pump, because it's really expensive and I have no idea if I will be able to breastfeed or not.

bankssl1 · February 2016

My insurance gave me a list of maybe 10 different pumps and then some upgrades that were about $100 extra. I went with the Ameda, it came with the bag, 6 bottles and a cooler at no extra charge. I got it in the mail Saturday!

Tawny87 · February 2016

While we are talking pumps, I will add with my twins I had a hand pump I bought and kept in the diaper bag. That thing was a freaking life saver on many occasions like staying at someone's house too long etc. All this talk of pumps reminded me to go into the basement and look for it.

arteduc8 · February 2016

So I called my insurance (twice, the first person was soooo not helpful) and found out that they will cover up to 100% of a pump, about $125-150. I could potentially pay more for a more expensive one out of pocket. They gave me some local medical supply places to call, but looking the 6 of them up online, only 1 seemed legit and had a few pumps to choose from. This is what they offer:


Ameda Purely Yours® Electric Breast Pump		Medela Pump in Style®Advanced Breast Pump

My questions:
Has anyone used either of these? Pros or cons? I'll be needing to pump at work when I return but only have a short time to do so each day.

I see that Madela lists companies on their website. Anyone go through one of these suppliers? Apparently BRU has a partner that helps with getting pumps through insurance? So confused. I feel like should have more options that just the 2 models above. Thoughts?
https://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/insurance-pump-lookup/results?ProviderId=552&State=IL#suppliers

Edit: Adding that my sister has the Ameda Purely Yours that she used for her 2 kids (8 years ago) that she said I can have. Obviously I'd buy some new parts. Wondering if I get the same from my insurance so I have one at work and one at home or if lugging it back and forth isn't a big issue. And that way I have the same parts and accessories instead of 2 different kinds.

Also just signed up for a free Breastfeeding 101 class at my local BRU in a couple of weeks to get info from a lactation consultant. Hopefully its helpful!

Bear14+ · February 2016

arteduc8 said:

So I called my insurance (twice, the first person was soooo not helpful) and found out that they will cover up to 100% of a pump, about $125-150. I could potentially pay more for a more expensive one out of pocket. They gave me some local medical supply places to call, but looking the 6 of them up online, only 1 seemed legit and had a few pumps to choose from. This is what they offer:

Ameda Purely Yours® Electric Breast Pump

Medela Pump in Style®Advanced Breast Pump
My questions:
Has anyone used either of these? Pros or cons? I'll be needing to pump at work when I return but only have a short time to do so each day.

I see that Madela lists companies on their website. Anyone go through one of these suppliers? Apparently BRU has a partner that helps with getting pumps through insurance? So confused. I feel like should have more options that just the 2 models above. Thoughts?
https://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/insurance-pump-lookup/results?ProviderId=552&State=IL#suppliers

This is all my insurance company covers. I have a friend who only had a manual pump covered by insurance. Each company is different. I upgraded last time, so I don't have much experience with that pump, but yep, I'm getting the same thing.

Sydvicious08 · February 2016

I have the ameda. It has survived two babies, one that I pumped alot because I was working, I stay at home now. It has started to slow down, but still works. I rented a madela but it was older and I hated it.

cdnrunning · February 2016

I'm in the same boat as @CopperLane

Tawny87 · February 2016

@arteduc8 I got the pump in style advanced starter set through my insurance. I haven't used this one before but really liked the medela Lactina I had for my twins. I bought a carrying tote for it on eBay for 25$ which is much cheaper than medela sells the totes for.

Tawny87 · February 2016

I used the BRU partner service, I forget the name off the top of my head but they were the shizzzz!

bankssl1 · February 2016

I also want to add that I used Aeroflow, I found it here on TB and they were so awesome! I just gave them my insurance info, they sent me a list of pumps my insurance covered, I emailed them with my choice and it was on my doorstep within the week. SO AWESOME!

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Breast pumps

Re: Breast pumps

Mrs. H

Crohn's Dx: August 2008

Endometriosis Dx: May 2010

Married: 05/19/2012

TTC #1: June 2013

BFP: December 2013

DS: Born 08/29/2014

TTC #2: July 2015

Ameda Purely Yours® Electric Breast Pump

Medela Pump in Style®Advanced Breast Pump

Ameda Purely Yours® Electric Breast Pump

Medela Pump in Style®Advanced Breast Pump

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