When I had my first child I was given the Medela Freestyle pump. I knew I would be working full time and my plan was to pump for a year. This pump is amazing!!! I know many moms who work and pump and can not produce enough milk. I swear part of it is the strength of the pump. So I used this pump for a year and my cousin used it as well. Needless to say it finally died. I knew this time around we would not have any baby showers and we would need to purchase it ourselves. (Side note totally worth the $400 if you will be paying for formula instead.)
Our options:
1. My husband and I both have the high deductible plans with the Health Savings Accounts. These accounts take money out of your paycheck pre-taxed so you can pay for medical expenses. (Some Companies put the money in their for you.) Apparently your HSA debit card can be used to purchase a Breast pump and accessories!
2. Obamacare has offered every mom a free pump through your insurance. The pump offered is not the Medela Freestyle. It is the next level down. This is still a good pump, but the Freestyle is mobile, does not need to be plugged to a wall or a bag, and is hands free! Anyways, I called my insurance and asked how I should go about getting my pump. They gave me a list of company's that provided the free pump. I chose a company called Better Living Now. At first I was a little overwhelmed by their website so I called the company direct. They had an awesome customer service who explained to me exactly what to do. He also explained if I wanted to upgrade to the Freestyle pump it would be a $125 difference from the free one. I then asked if I could use my HSA account to pay the difference and he said YES! We ended up with this $400 pump for $125 but we did not have to pay out of our pockets.
Process of ordering the pump:
To start off I did not have to wait until 30 days out from my due date to order like other company's.
1. I called my insurance got a list of company's that provided.
2. Got the prescription from my doctor.
3. Called Better Living Now.
4. Took a picture of the prescription and sent it to the company.
5. Got a confirmation email back.
6. Paid the difference for the upgraded pump with my HSA.
7. Received the pump on my door step within a week.
