The Affordable Care Act in the USA says that as part of good preventive
health care, all mothers should have access to skilled lactation care, and
breastfeeding equipment [pumps], with NO further out-of-pocket ["co-pay"]
expense.  It is supposed to be part of their health insurance.

Sounds great -- but the devil is in the details.  It has been a nightmare
here in the USA as different insurance companies come up with different
definitions as to what that means.

The US Breastfeeding Committee and the National Breastfeeding Center
co-published the Model Payer Policy to help private insurance companies
come to the *right* decisions as to what services and equipment they should
cover. That is found here:
http://www.usbreastfeeding.org/Portals/0/Publications/Model-Policy-Payer-Coverage-Breastfeeding-Support.pdf

Now, the National Breastfeeding Center has issued a Scorecard, after
thorough research, on just how well those private insurance companies are
doing.  Find that here :
http://www.nbfcenter.com/NBfC_Breastfeeding-Policy-Scorecard-09.2013.pdf

The Model Payer Policy is an implementation guideline for the companies
that provide insurance to about 20% of the population.  The Scorecard lets
each company know how its competitors are doing.  Between these two
documents, IBCLCs have some powerful tools to use in advocating for
appropriate coverage for their clients/patients, and for seeking
reimbursement of their own services.

-- 
Liz Brooks, JD, IBCLC, FILCA
Wyndmoor, PA, USA

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