SUPER IMPORTANT PAGE
Re: Cost, Appointment Preparation, etc.
Please read entire page prior to scheduling-after booking you’ll be asked if you read this section:
Cost
Payment Methods
FSA/HSA/Insurance
Follow-Up Communication
Illness
Arrival & Feeding Times
Cost/Investment:
(For Out-of-Town & Surrounding-area consult pricing, please scroll down)
Office Visits
(near Heubner Oaks)
Private-Pay $150 for Mom & Baby
Aetna Members-Mom is covered/baby $80*
*Lactation consults involve two clients: mom and baby. Aetna only covers mom, but not baby, which is why a few for baby is still charged for baby.
Housecalls in San Antonio:
• $180 Private-Pay Initial Visit for Mom & Baby ($100 Aetna Travel & Baby Fee)
• $150 Follow-Up for mom & baby ($100 Aetna Travel & Baby Fee)
Out of Town Consults (paid cash-only):
If requesting outside-of-SA consults, please call 210-209-1002 to schedule since appointment times need to be customized.
Out of Town Pricing:
• Areas immediately outside of San Antonio
(Pipe Creek/Cibolo/Bracken, Elmendorf, etc):
$200 Private-Pay/$130 Aetna Member Travel Fee
• Areas a bit further:
(Floresville, New Braunfels, etc):
$250 Prívate-Pay/$150 Aetna Member Travel Fee
• Even Further:
Seguin/Stickdald/Poth, San Marcus, Seguin, Hondo, etc.
$300 Private-Pay/$200 Aetna Travel Fee
Although we go to the moon and back for healthy babies, we could be supporting multiple clients in the time it takes us to see families outside of the greater SA area. As a result, we do charge extra for leaving the greater San Antonio area.
Please determine location by your physical USPS address. When families schedule as if they’re in San Antonio, yet are in surrounding areas, this leads to logistical challenges in trying to be on time to them and other clients. If you’re unsure if your address is considered “out of town”, please call or text us at 2102091002 and based on your location, we’ll give you the fee and next available appointment.
Payment Methods
We only accept cash, check and Venmo.
Credit cards are no longer accepted due to increasing fees that we prefer not to pass on to our clients.
Insurance Reimbursement:
Suggestions & Thoughts
If reimbursement is important to you, please read this section before scheduling.
FSA/HSA: Our services are generally reimbursable by most HSA plans. While we do not charge HSA cards directly, parents may be able to request self-reimbursement for what they invest in our consult. We will provide a claim form for this.
Health Insurance: Breastfeeding Housecalls is out-of-network with most insurance companies (trust us, we’ve tried-and we’ve only been able to get in-network with Aetna) however to greatly increase your chances of being reimbursed by your health insurance company for what you pay us, please call your insurance well before your consult and request that they pre-authorize our services for reimbursement to you, then MAKE SURE THEY GIVE YOU THE CODES THEY WANT US TO USE IN THE CLAIM FORMS WE GIVE YOU. We will ask you to provide these codes in your intake forms so that we can prepare your reimbursement form.
When calling your health insurance to request a pre-authorization, they may ask for the following:
E & M Code: 99404
Diagnosis Code: z39.1*
Breastfeeding Housecalls’ Tax ID:
45-4754615
*this is an industry-standard code but Insurance policies differ in what codes they’ll reimburse for, which is why clients calling and asking before the consult is important ;)
Remember, you will pay us at the time of our consult, and then submit the courtesy claim form we give you in case they reimburse you. We do not guarantee reimbursement of services and will offer a claim form, but will not directly constant or engage with insurance companies on your behalf.
In addition, when scheduling your appointment, please provide us with your insurance information in the fields that request it (regardless of whether we are covered for services or not) in the areas of the forms that ask for insurance name and policy numbers-so that we may add these to the courtesy insurance claim form that we provide (this can help your insurance company reimburse you).
If you don’t get reimbursed, rest assured that our services are well worth the life-time wellness, emotional and financial investment of restoring breastfeeding.
To give perspective, our services cost less than most baby equipment or services alone or combined (strollers, swivel chairs/swings, car seats, sleep-training classes, etc.) purchased by new parents.
Need more reasons to feel good about getting a breastfeeding housecall? Read here about why hiring a Lactation Consultant is worth your baby’s weight in liquid gold!
FOLLOW-UP COMMUNICATION
Our Lactation Consultants do not work “on-call”, and kindly ask that clients be respectful of how and when they communicate with us.
Please communicate with us thru our secure-message via our patient portal only. We will engage and reply to texts about appointment logistics (scheduling or rescheduling, or “I’m on my way.” texts) that are sent during business hours.
Extended Love Availability
Clients who feel like they will need to reach us more frequently than the once per day the first five days after our consultation can subscribe to our “Extended Love” availabilty ($50/week) which will provide for three daily messages via our portal per day (to which we will reply 1x day), for the amount of weeks they feel will be needed. Most moms or partners know if they will require this type of follow-up before scheduling their first appointment.
Feeding emergencies should always be referred to your baby’s midwife, pediatrician or an emergency room.
ILLNESS
Because we work with brand new babies, its important for us not to take germs from one home to the next.
We make every effort to not be around new families and new babies when we are sick-and we ask the same courtesy from our clients when scheduling an appointment when they (or anyone in their household) is ill. Instead, we ask that you choose an appointment time when you anticipate that the illness will have run its course. We do not charge cancellations for illness.
If you have already scheduled and have a newborn with weight issues, call us to talk through your existing situation, until everyone in your household is well enough for us to visit. While breastfeeding issues are time-sensitive, many of them can be worked through with an interim phone plan until your household feels better and we are able to visit.
Arrival Times & Feeding Readiness
Because we help hungry babies all of San Antonio and surrounding areas, and rely on SA’s ever changing traffic and construction conditions, exact arrival times cannot be promised, which is why we schedule start-times in 30 minute time-windows from the beginning of your scheduled time.
To manage baby’s feeding-readiness, ideally, offer baby a full feed about 1.5 hrs before our scheduled time window and *lightly-snack* baby about 15 min before our scheduled time window if you feel they cannot wait until we arrive.
Important to Know:
• Please know that we only see families who use licensed healthcare providers for their and their baby's healthcare.
• After reserving your appointment, look out for pre-appt e-forms in your email inbox. These must be filled out within 12 hrs of consult.
If someone besides the nursing parent is completing the appt scheduling, please make sure you enter correct email, address and phone number for the nursing parent. We will be communicating directly with them prior to and after the consult.
If you have questions prior to scheduling, please call us at 210-209-1002, otherwise please know the fastest way to schedule is online, and appts often go quickly.
We’re excited to meet you!
Tips to Prepare for your consult:
We're excited to meet you!
- BABY: Try to hold off on feeding your baby for about an hour prior to our appointment. Also, please have baby undressed and in a dry disposable diaper for the consult.
- EQUIPMENT: Have your pump parts cleaned and ready to be used, if needed.
- PETS: We adore animals, and don't at all mind friendly pets hanging out w us during our visit to you, however, please secure mean or distracting ones prior to our arrival. For families visiting our home-office, please know that our pets will always be secured during your visit.
- FAMILY, FRIENDS & OPINIONS: Don’t fret about having others present (ahem, the opinionated MIL or friends). We absolutely don’t mind family and friends present at our visit so long as our client welcomes them. Our support for our client-family is our priority and are good about providing loving, validating and insightful counseling to “opposing opinions” from friends and family members in favor of the parents and babies we are serving.
- CULTURAL SENSITIVITY: We pride ourselves in being open and accepting to all cultures and traditions, and naturally implement what we have learned over the years of serving a diverse demographic, however you feel that we should have particular mindfulness about something important you and your family, please let us to know prior to our visit.
We're excited to meet you!
