America's Most Hated Insurer Found a New Way to Cut Off Newborns. It's Also Illegal.
6h 2m ago by lemmy.dbzer0.com/u/greenmonster in latestagecapitalism from youtu.be
Cross posted from https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/70732778
Cross posted from https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/70732775
Starting September 1, 2026, UnitedHealthcare — the largest health insurer in the country — will stop separately reimbursing lactation consultants for the baby's portion of a home visit, paying only for the mother.
The company calls it eliminating "duplicate payments." Lactation consultants like New Jersey's Danielle Tropea say it cuts their reimbursement roughly in half — from about $250 to around $125 — for the same visit, the same baby, the same work.
The Affordable Care Act mandates breastfeeding support at no cost to families, so this is a billing-code workaround on a benefit the law guarantees. Here's how the trick works, and who actually pays for it.
SOURCES STAT News — "UnitedHealthcare's lactation billing feud, and fake strokes": statnews.com/2026/06/08/unitedhealth-lactation-counseling-policy-medicare-advantage-audits-stroke
WHYY — "N.J. breastfeeding service providers face pay cuts with UnitedHealthcare insurance's lactation billing change": whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-breastfeeding-service-providers-insurance
Save us, Luigi!
and in the next quarter they will cut it in half again because there is no need to pay for lactation consulting on the SECOND BOOB!... I mean, come on, that is just redundant again
