Last Updated On June 10th, 2020
One of the most important questions for a new mother to ask in some cases is this: are breast pump covered by insurance? There is no simple answer to that question, unfortunately. Lots of mothers are going to have a difficult time even functioning without breast pumps, since they’re just not going to be able to nurse their children all the time but they still want to be able to nourish them naturally. Unexpressed milk can leave women in pain. However, despite the necessity of breast pumps, many health insurance plans still do not provide adequate coverage for them.
When are Breast Pumps Covered?
For one thing, women who had healthcare plans put in place before March 23, 2010 are not going to get their breast pumps covered, because that means that they predate the passage of the Affordable Health Act. The healthcare plans established before that date are regarded as grandfathered. As such, they are not going to be subjected to all of the new provisions associated with the new healthcare requirements. However, the people who were able to get healthcare at a later date might be able to get their breast pumps covered. As people get further and further away from the passage of the Affordable Healthcare Act, this should apply to more and more parents. Many new Millennial parents should find that breast pumps are covered by their health insurance.
However, it should be noted that not all health 
insurance plans are going to be able to provide adequate healthcare coverage for breast pumps, even though some of the costs associated with them will be compensated. Many people who get health insurance really are working within very narrow margins financially, and having to pay around ten dollars more than they expected can be ten dollars too many. It is important to get a sense of how extensive the healthcare coverage is going to be in advance before making any purchases. For some families, it might be important to switch healthcare plans on that basis alone just in order to avoid some of these additional costs.
It should be noted that there are going to be so many variations here that generalizations are made difficult. For instance, women who have Medicaid might be able to get their breast pumps covered by their insurance. However, this actually varies from state to state in the United States in spite of the fact that Medicaid is technically a federal program. There are baseline levels when it comes to the coverage of breast pumps, but some of these might be limited enough that they will prove to be inadequate for a lot of mothers.
There are additional questions to ask when it comes to the question of whether or not breast pumps are covered by insurance. For one thing, some of them require a prescription for the sake of coverage. As such, some women are going to need to see their doctors regularly in order to get covered. Breast pumps are often covered by insurance today, but there is nothing simple about it.
Also read: Are Baby Carriers Worth It?