How To Get A Breast Pump Through Your Insurance, Which Can Be Difficult

When you're a new mom, the "must-have" lists, how-to guides, and well meaning (but poorly timed) advice from well-wishers can get overwhelming. In your research, you may have stumbled on the little known fact that you can possibly get a hospital grade breast pump for free. Yes, you read that right. There are some insurance companies that will cover the cost of a breast pump — an item that most would argue is an actual must-have if you plan to pump at all. If you want to know how to get a breast pump through your insurance, it's actually a lot simpler than you'd think.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, most health insurance agencies are required to cover breastfeeding services and supplies. This is great news, since most high quality electric breast pumps can get very pricey. There are a few ways to go about getting your own pump, but first it requires ensuring your health insurance covers it.

Call Your Insurance Yourself

According to What to Expect, you'll need to determine if your health insurance plan is governed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or more simply Obamacare), which made it required for companies to cover breastfeeding education and some expenses. One of the easiest ways to do this is simply by calling. A simple search of your health care provider should give you the right phone number to call, and once you're put through to the right people, they should be more than knowledgeable about how to get you a pump, if they cover it.

Use A Third Party To Find Out For You

As mentioned earlier, some companies exist for the sole purpose of helping new moms get the help they need. Pumping Essentials will do all of the dirty work for you, even shipping your pump right to your house, all you have to do is fill out a simple form (called an Insurance Order), so that they can verify your insurance coverage.

Whatever you decide, knowing that you may have the option for a free breast pump can be a huge stress relief, and god knows new moms can use as much of that as possible.