The Limerick team is made up of highly knowledgeable breastfeeding experts, and our website is home to a wide range of great information - whether that's help and advice for moms and new parents, information for healthcare professionals and corporate stakeholders about the benefits our pumps have to offer, or other resources that parents will find useful during their breastfeeding journey, However, one of the questions we see often is moms asking "is a breast pump considered DME?" so in this post, we'll talk about what makes something DME, what a breast pump's DME status means and more. Let's get started!
So, let's answer the question - is a breast pump considered DME?
Yes, breast pumps are considered durable medical equipment (DME), as are some other maternity items like supportive clothing and wraps, pregnancy pillows, and nursing bras.
Why is a breast pump considered DME?
In the United States the definition of DME is "equipment and supplies ordered by a health care provider for everyday or extended use." Manual or electric breast pumps are considered as meeting those criteria, so they are classed as durable medical equipment.
What does this definition as DME mean for parents and insurance providers?
The fact that breast pumps are considered DME can have the following benefits for moms and new parents:
-
It means that insurance providers like Blue Cross Blue Shield, State Farm, Highmark and others must cover the cost of a breast pump, even if a mother has no other healthcare needs at all.
-
The breast pump can be provided on a rental basis, or mom can be allowed to keep the pump even after she stops nursing.
-
The pump can also be manual or electric - exactly what new moms can be provided with and whether it's on a permanent or rental basis depends on your provider, so you'll need to check with them to ascertain this.
-
It means that if you need additional accessories like bottles or shields, they'll cover those too (if they're not already included).
-
The main takeaway here then is that insurance providers will cover the cost of breast pumps, just as they do other types of durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs or oxygen tanks. Furthermore, if you have health insurance through your employer, Medicaid or Medicare then any expenses related to purchasing or using a breast pump will be covered by your health plan - you won't need to pay anything out-of-pocket!
How Limerick supports you on your breastfeeding journey
The Limerick team offers a wide range of support to moms throughout their breastfeeding journey. There is of course the information that we mentioned right at the start of this piece and the other informative pieces of content that you'll find in our resource center. For example, just as we've covered the question of "is a breast pump considered DME?" here today, we also have content asking questions such as "why is one breast not producing milk?", "how can I treat breast engorgement?", "where can I buy Similac nipples?" and more.
Limerick can also provide more practical help too. We have designed and built our own range of hospital-grade electric closed system pumps, incorporating patented technology that mimics a baby's natural nursing pattern, offering moms both comfort and effective pumping. You'll find these pumps in the Limerick shop, alongside many other breastfeeding products and useful accessories and supplies to help you on your breastfeeding journey.
In Conclusion
If you're one of those moms asking "is a breast pump considered DME?" Then we hope that this piece has been helpful to you - both from the standpoint of providing a clear answer to that question, but also in highlighting the fact that "is a breast pump considered DME?" is not the only question that parents should be asking around this topic. It's also important to ask and understand exactly what your insurance provider covers, and the basis on which it is provided too.