Breast Pumps, Affordable Care Act, and The Milk-Saver

After exclusively pumping for nine months with my first child, I’m so thrilled that my newest baby is latching, my supply is adequate, and that I have the opportunity to breastfeed my daughter this time around.  I told myself I wouldn’t stress about it on this blog post, but in my heart I knew I wanted to breastfeed for a number of different reasons.  I did have a couple of nights of stress and an over-anxious nurse in the hospital, but overall it’s been a breeze and I’m so thankful. I realize that not every mom has success breastfeeding, and I truly hate that.  I’m extremely thankful for this opportunity.

A good part of my day is spent breastfeeding with a 7 week old, so naturally I bring you a post about a couple of breastfeeding topics I want to share with you.

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Breast Pumps & Affordable Care Act

First up is that private insurance companies are now required to provide breast feeding support and supplies.  This means that breast pumps are now either covered or available at discount pricing through insurance companies thanks to the to Affordable Care Act {ACA}.  This includes breast pumps and lactation services.

Knowing that if my daughter didn’t latch well that I would still pump while on maternity leave, I asked my husband to call our insurance company back in the summer about coverage for a breast pump.  Fortunately, our plan covered an electronic breast pump at 100%.  Closer to my due date, September to be exact, I called and went on to the Yummy Mummy website.  I spoke with a super helpful customer care representative {more about that conversation below} who advised me to order my desired pump online and submit my insurance information, and they would take it from there.  I went online and ordered the pump I desired {the Hygeia Q}, and two weeks later I had a breast pump delivered to my front porch.  It was seriously that easy.   The best part – I paid zero bucks for my new pump.

photo (1)above :: my 36 week baby bump and my brand new breast pump

A couple of important things to mention though ::

  •  Not all health care plans cover pumps at 100%.  Some require a co-payment or deductible payment, and some only cover a portion of the cost while the patient is responsible for the remaining cost.
  •  Not all breast pumps covered by health care plans are hospital grade pumps.  As I mentioned, I ordered the Hygeia Q pump after talking to the super helpful rep at Yummy Mummy.  She pointed out that the Hygeia Q was the only insurance approved pump they offer that is a) endorsed by La Leche League and b) hospital grade quality.

All that said, if you’re in need of a breast pump {whether it’s because your baby has latching problems, you want to pump in addition to nursing to boost your supply, or you plan to return to work and want to continue to provide breast milk for your little one}, here’s what you can do ::

  1. Call your insurance company to see how much your plan covers and which third party companies you can order through.
  2. Call or go online to the approved companies and place your order.  Have your insurance card handy.  As mentioned earlier, Yummy Mummy has a very user friendly website to order from.  Also as a side note, the rep from Yummy Mummy mentioned that they did offer immediate shipping, pending insurance verification, should I or another mom need a pump quickly.
  3. Then, finally, wait for your breast pump to arrive and start making that liquid gold for your wee one.

Milkies Milk-Saver

Last, but certainly not least, did you know there’s a little gadget that can help us breastfeeding moms save every drop of that liquid gold?  I had no clue until I grew super frustrated about saturating nursing pad after nursing pad.  {For those that don’t know,  a baby’s suckling on one breast leads to the milk ‘dropping’ of both breasts and results in both breasts leaking milk – not just the one the baby is latched on to.}  So I  went to the web to find an answer.  That’s when I discovered Milkie’s Milk-Saver.

You can read about the Milk-Saver on their website.  I basically just use it only when nursing – I don’t wear it for extended periods of time, but you can.  I put it in the cup of my bra of the breast that I am not currently nursing from.  The Milk-Saver catches all the milk that is released from that breast while the baby is suckling on the opposite breast.  Then I switch sides when my baby switches to nurse on the opposite breast.  I only ordered this because I was sick of leaking through nursing pads and my sleep clothes – I HAD NO IDEA I WOULD SAVE SO MUCH MILK WITH THIS, and that’s the reason I’m sharing this little gem of a product with you guys today.

PicMonkey Collageabove :: pouring the breast milk from the Milk-Saver to a collection bottle

I would say that I collect an extra 1-2 ounces of breast milk a day using the Milk-Saver {early on it was closer to 2 ounces, now it’s closer to 1 ounce}.  Now that doesn’t seem like a lot, but if I save an average of 1.5 ounces a day for one month and freeze it, that will make just over 11 four-ounce bottles of breast milk.  I have no doubt this will prove to be so helpful when I return to work next year.

I love this thing.  I was telling another mom about it a couple of weeks ago in the Nordstrom ladies’ lounge aka ‘nursing station.’  She was worried about her milk supply being low and wanted to conserve every single drop of breast milk she could, so she snagged one off Amazon right then, while nursing, via her phone for $23.

You can purchase from the Milkies website or from Amazon.

So there you go.  Whether you can now snag a new breast pump or use a Milk-Saver to catch and save every last drop of breast milk, I hope this post proved helpful for some of you.   Thanks for reading.

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Tiffanie V
Tiffanie, originally from East Texas, has called Houston home for over 10 years now. She and her husband met during undergraduate studies at Stephen F. Austin State University. They have one son, Preston {Jan 2011}, who was born with a very rare congenital heart condition and underwent a very successful open heart surgery at Houston's own Texas Children's Hospital when he was just two days old. In October 2013, Tiffanie welcomed a daughter, Hadley, into this world. She adores seeing life and this great city through the eyes of her children. She is a practicing physician assistant, passionate about Endocrinology and diabetes. Committed to connecting moms and families to all the fabulousness of this great city, Tiffanie started serving as our Sponsorship Coordinator in January 2014. Her days are now filled to the brim with taking care of her family, her patients, fielding sales calls, and scheduling sponsored posts. Her favorite pasttimes include drinking a full-bodied glass of red, retail therapy, a nice long run, and being near a beach - water soothes her.

5 COMMENTS

  1. UGH!!!! I wish I would’ve known all this ONE year ago! Ha! I’m starting the nursing weaning process THIS WEEK w/Kate as she is turning 1. I had NO idea about the insurance coverage or that handy little milk-saver! Tiffanie!!! AHHHHHH!

  2. This is such great info Tiffanie! I can’t wait to check into our insurance coverage. Thanks for laying this out so seamlessly!

  3. My current insurance was grandfathered in and is not required to comply with the ACA, therefore does not have to cover any nursing supplies (along with many other things). Definitely double check with your insurance!

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