Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Hayley on April 21, 2014 at 12:40am

Hi,
First off don't take anybody's personal experience as fact or think it holds any merit to your situation. Alopecia is highly individual and the people on here are peers not doctors. I've had alopecia for a year, lost all my hair (head)and patches on my body, now it's growing back snd I never lost eyebrows or lashes. Maybe it will come back, maybe I'll develope AU one day, maybe I'll keep my hair no one knows and no one can predict it. Don't let other people's experience cause you added stress.
I can't give you advice in regards to health insurance (thankfully I'm Canadian and it is covered, just not the prescriptions).
I suggest you do research on what you can do to help. Create a lifestyle that limits the things that aggregate your alopecia. Are you eating healthy? After doing research decide whether going gluten free, dairy free, eating more fish etc is right for you. Meditate ( yeah for real) practice yoga. There are a lot of things you can do without a doctor if one isn't an option.
Personally I went off the topical treatment I was prescribed after I saw no results other than acne and a gap in my wallet. Practicing some things mentioned above I started seeing results, but it did take consistency and (lots of ) time!
Again this is my experience and something else might work better for you.
Try to stay positive.

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Permalink Reply by Ann G. Mack on April 21, 2014 at 2:37pm

Hi Nicole,

I am truly sorry to hear your insurance company is not willing to accept Alopecia as being a medical condition.  The actual medical terminology for wig is "cranial prosthesis."  Perhaps your doctor could write you a prescription using this term to start.  Then each wig you purchase could be included on your taxes [http://glamourhouseofhair.com/pages/MedicalInsuranceClaims.htm].  Another suggestion would be to obtain a copy of the the bill http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txt....  There is another one as far back as 2008 or before.  I will see if I can find it for you.  Perhaps you could make a copy of the Bill and forward it to the insurance company.

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Permalink Reply by Joanne Washington on April 22, 2014 at 4:00am

Nicole, If your doctor is not specifying to the insurance company what type of alopecia you have they will deny.  So for starters it sounds as if you have alopecial universalis which is total hair loss.  Your doctor can request a voucher for a cranial prosthesis.  You will be able to take it to an approved store in you area to purchase hair.  If that does not work contact your local American Cancer Association and request a wig in which is offered free.  Even tho you do not have cancer they may willing to give you one free of charge.  If that does not work contact me by sending a picture of your hair style and I will see what I can do to help you.  By the way if you want to know what caused your to lose your hair, let me know I will help you identify the root cause.    I am Joanne email.   hairoots@gmail.com or 714 674-7668.  

You have to understand that hair loss is not being taken seriously by doctors or insurance companies.  Many insurance companies want to pay as little as possible.  They do not understand that there is a difference between hair breakage, due to self induced causes and hair loss due underlying health conditions.  It sounds as if you are currently seeing a medical doctor that is unfamilar with the correct terms to submit to the insurance company.  Please let them know alopecia means :"hair loss" nothing more, so the insurance company see it as cosmetic.  You have to teach them if you see help let me know.  

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Permalink Reply by CompassionateCreations on April 24, 2014 at 12:57pm

Hello Nicole,I am the of Compassionate Creations Wig Design and I always tell my clients to get a prescription from your doctor for a "Cranial Prosthesis". Its basically a prescription for a Wig (however, if you use the term wig, a lot of insurance companies consider it to be a cosmetic accessory) so always say Cranial Prosthetic or prosthesis. You can then submit it to your insurance company using codes that you can find on my website www.compassionatecreationswigdesign.com- you can also check out some of the services we offer and see if it is something that can work for you.

I also like to inform my clients that depending on your taxes, your wig purchase can possibly be a medical tax write off. I have never seen insurance companies cover more than about $500 however, something is better than nothing. I hope this helps!!!

Veronica Balch

Owner- Compassionate Creations Wig Design

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Permalink Reply by Nicole Kordie on April 29, 2014 at 7:19pm

I live in Arizona and have Medicaid. The have denied me twice due to Alopecia being cosmetic. I am a single mom who struggles. Thanks for all your advice

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Permalink Reply by heidi bratt on April 30, 2014 at 12:00pm

hello Nicole,

my  name is Heidi bratt and  I  have had alopecia areata  for  over 30 years and I am all so a member of the

national alopecia areata  foundation and a member of the  boston alopecia areata support group a long with

being a part time advocate  since I have been fighting the government to  get a  senate  bill 430 and  very

similar  bills   to  get passed and to become a law for the state  of Massachusetts so  health insurance

companies   in ,mass  will  pay for wigs for   people that has alopecia areata  which  senate  bill 430

is in the process of   hope fully  becomes a law for mass this  year  and  Medicaid is wrong alopecia

areata is not cosmetic  and  because of my efforts  I have gotten  3 major health insurance companies

tufts,  blue cross and  Harvard pilgrim to cover  the cost of wigs  for people that has alopecia areata

with out a legislative mandate  and I am sending you my website which has info on alopecia areata and

info on me  which is www.heidibrattssenatebill.com

and if you need to contact me you can contact me at- 978- 312-1250 or email me at

heidibratt650@yahoo.com

love and support

Heidi bratt

part time advocate

member of naaf

member of  the bsg

telephone support contact person

naaf pen pal

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Permalink Reply by Christine on April 30, 2014 at 1:57am

So sorry you are dealing with the AA and to make matters worse the insurence companies do not seem to agree that Alopecia is a Autoimmune disease, I'm so tired of hearing its all cosmetic because we are not in physical pain and it carries no risk to general health. RA is vary disfiguring as well as painful but is also an autoimmune disease. Until AA is considered a real disease the insurance companies will not cover what they deem cosmetic. Acne is also not a life threatning problem but I bet they would allow you to see a Dermatologist for what is clearly a cosmetic condition. When I tried to get my wig covered the woman I talked to over the phone asked me about AA, I was able to tell her what it was like and how it progressed for me, she had little or no knowledge of it before, she was so understanding, and agreed with me that wigs should be covered, and incouraged me to pursue a hearing on my claim. unfortunatly it was still denied even with everything I submitted to them from my doctor to a personal letter. I believe you should fight the denial, and all of us should, AA is still a very misunderstood condition. Good luck to you and I really believe you have a good chance of winning this one. Please let us know what you find out.

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Permalink Reply by Supportive Mom on August 2, 2015 at 11:51am

Hi I seen you said to request a thyroid peroxidase antibody test. My daughter just recent tested abnormally high at 900 normal is 9. What does this mean?

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