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Has anyone gotten insurance to pay for hair prosthesis?
Hello!
I have AU since age 20 and am now 32. I have a cranial hair vacuum prosthesis and have NEVER gotten insurance to pay for one hair piece. I have had United Heath Care, Kaiser, and now Cigna and all have denied covering this. This is so incredibly frustrating and infuriating to me. Has anyone EVER gotten insurance to cover anything? Any help and advice are appreciated!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bonnie on
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I haven't bought a wig in about 5 years, as I finally chose not wear them, but Anthem paid for it with a doctor's prescription. However with the new "Affordable Health Care Act" Anthem no longer covers my asthma inhaler or one of my daughters medications. Good luck.
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Permalink Reply by Suzanne on
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No. but I have a flexible spending account and can use it for full cranial prosthesis
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Permalink Reply by Stellarubin on
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Suzanne,
Are you good with me calling you this weekend? I'm the one that lives In Ft Walton Beach, Fl. I made a consult for next Wednesday. I'm curious to what a flexible spending account as I also have blue cross and blue shield and they will not pay for anything.
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I too am VERY frustrated by this -- Blue Cross Blue Shield only cover hair prothesis for women who have cancer. I'm not sure why we are discriminated against, but I have had NO luck getting insurance to cover my FFA medical device. Depending upon how much you spend on non-reimbursed medical expenses, you might be able to deduct it from your taxes.
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Permalink Reply by Alo-mom on
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Hello group, I have been very lucky with the insurances we had for my daughter when she lost her hair. We had Blue Cross plans. They were very generous on reimbursement. Our first wig cost $3800 and we were reimbursed for about $3,000 total from both insurances, my husbands and x-husbands plan. Our daughter was on both plans so they both paid. Did it take a lot of work, YES YES YES. calls, letters prescriptions and letters from doctors. They reimbursed us for years. There are so many things that have to submitted and then resubmitted with codes and and more codes. Call me the bull dog. After many years of purchasing very expensive human hair wigs so that my daughter would feel her best and take the world by storm I decided I needed to take things into my own hands. I could not control the loss of her hair, but I was going to control the wigs she would wear until we find a cure. So I went to Qingdao, China to visit the hair factories. You can read my story about what that was like on AW. I now work ( volunteer) with a company owner from China who I like and respect. She is a mother too and when she heard my story she actually came to the US to attend the NAAF conference. Now is there any factory from China that would do that, I SAY NO. She has spent the last 6 months in the states with me and we are working very hard to bring a brand to the US that we can be proud of. If it is going to go on my daughters head, then it must be the best for her and those we help.
Now back to Insurance, all insurance coverages are different, Even if they have the same name it does not mean that they are the same. Working in a school district for many years these plans are all individually negociated for what they are going to offer the employee. So if you have Athem Blue Cross in x school district and I have it in y district, they are not going to offer the same benefits.
In closing, I would be glad to advice anyone on insurance and the tricks of the trade, but there are no absolutes in this business of reimbursement. I am happy to say with this trip to China I do not have to worry about insurances anymore because the cost of these wigs is within our means. My daughter is very accepting of her AU, her boyfriend loves her, her girlfriends think she is a kick and she is my hero by the way she has accepted her hair loss. I now have found peace in my heart for Alopecia because I now have found what I was looking for so she could live her life to the fullest, the finest quality human hair wigs that look natural and move naturally. She is my hero and all of you out there that have found the strength to live on with Alopecia are my heroes too. I am a mother who has felt incredible compassion and wish to help the Alopecia community in anyway I can. Helping others has helped me and I find that wigs are my passion.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends on this website.
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Sorry, But forgot to mention that NAAF is working on Medicare so that certain income people can get a Full Cranial Prosthetic every two years for a max of $400. If this passes then insurance companies will follow suit we hope. Gary Sherwood at NAAF heads the Legislative team on this mission.
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WOW amazing! Thanks for the info! IS it possible you might share the info on the place from China? I have been getting my vacuum pieces from Freedom Hair. I am open to other non-vacuum pieces but prefer the "European" hair for the quality. Any help is appreciated! you are an amazing mom!
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There are so many options but you have to be educated and really find someone you can trust to tell you the truth about the hair, how it was installed, the type of cap, how to secure it and how to care for it. To be honest I do not believe that you get European hair when they say you do, I do believe you get European Quality hair which is really Mongolian hair because it is finer then Chinese Hair and really moves and feels like European Hair. I was lucky enough to find a factory that is amazing and the owner and I are try to move forward with a brand for those with Alopecia at a price point that is doable. I have made my share of mistakes and wish I had really understood the industry early on. However, from mistakes comes knowledge and from Knowledge comes power and I am happy to say I have power to help my daughter and others relative to Cranial Prosthetics. Thank you for reading my journey to China and how life changing it was for me. I could not control the loss of my daughters hair but I can now control the wigs she wears. Thank you for your compliment regarding being a good mom. That means a lot to me and for that I have have a daughter who has accepted her AU with grace and strength and dam good looking wigs.
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That's really good info. Would you mind sharing what companies that you have found in regards to hair pieces for you daughter? I like Freedom but cant afford to spend $4500 every 1-2 years. Any advice of help is appreciated!
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Permalink Reply by JessicaStinkle on
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Insurance is just confusing and I think they try to make it hard for you to understand your coverage. My insurance offers up to $350 a year for a wig but even when I put my claim in they always deny me. One time I contacted my states general attorney, which is free btw (they are here to serve the public interest). The guy immediately helped me and started arguing with the insurance company for me. Sometimes you just need backup! I would suggest calling your insurance company and specifically asking if it's a covered service and then what you need to fill out / submit.
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A few years ago, I bought a wig for around $3,000. I got a check from the insurance company for maybe $400, so only around 10%, but still, better than a poke in the eye... I live in CT, which I think mandates that, but I had to get a "prescription" from a dermatologist and submit that plus the receipt. CT does require insurance companies to cover this, but only up to whatever I got ($400 or so, can't remember the exact amount). I asked my dermatologist and the wig seller, and there was a certain phrase or wording that needed to be on the prescription, and I had no trouble. Submitted the stuff, got a check a few weeks later.
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