MEDICAL WIG

Medical Wigs: Bill Your Insurance
Home Health & Fitness Beauty
By: Naomi Mannino

Learn To Get Your Insurance To Pay for Your Medical
Wig
Many insurance companies have provisions for
covering medically necessary wigs. Here is how to
navigate the process and get your medical wig paid for.
"I'm finding that about 30 percent of insurance
companies cover cranial prosthetics, which is simply
another term for your wig," says Terri Johnston, owner
and hair replacement specialist of The Inspiration
Salon in Rockford, Ill. Getting your medically necessary
wig covered by your insurance should be a goal of
yours to get the best, highest-quality wig you can
afford. To accomplish this goal, as Dave Barker, owner
of International Hair Restoration Systems in
Jacksonville Fla., explains, "You really need somebody
experienced in oncology-related and medically
necessary wigs and hair replacement issues in your
court to guide you through the process."
What do I need to get a wig?
•An insurance benefit for a cranial prosthesis: Many
insurance companies that cover prostheses of any kind
will also cover a medically necessary wig, or cranial
prosthesis, for those who experience total hair loss due
to medical reasons, especially oncology. So your first
point of action is to call up your insurance company
and find out what it will cover and the process required
for achieving coverage, advises Johnston. Your specific
budget will depend on your personal situation,
diagnosis, insurance benefits, out-of-pocket limits, in-
network restrictions and deductible requirements.
•Diagnosis from your doctor: Obviously, for a cancer-
related or medically necessary wig, you'll need to
provide a copy of the diagnosis from your doctor.
•A written prescription from your doctor: Once you have
your diagnosis, your doctor can prescribe a cranial
prosthesis for you (in exactly those terms). Then, you
can work with your hair replacement specialist to
determine what your insurance will pay for and decide
on a type of wig or treatment that fits the parameters.
Johnston explains how some hair replacement
specialists can help even further: "Often, a patient will
get a prescription from the oncologist and we submit a
copy of the bill with the appropriate medical code on it
and can mail it to your insurance company. Usually a
wig is a reimbursement type of expense, but we can
also have it billed directly to your insurance. We abide
by HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act) regulations and can get the
prescription from your doctor and handle all the billing.
It's actually all part of our initial consultation for a
cancer-related wig."
•A hair replacement specialist with a taxpayer
identification number: The easiest step, agree both
Johnston and Barker, both very experienced in dealing
with oncology-related wigs and insurance issues, is to
deal with only an experienced hair replacement
company with a current taxpayer ID number. "You can
even try to find someone like either of us who can take
care of the insurance billing for you (which may
represent only a small percentage of hair replacement
professionals), especially if you are not feeling well.
Just call around, as part of your initial screening
process to find a hair replacement specialist, and ask
how they handle oncology hair wigs and insurance
issues," they suggest, "because the billing issues can
be complicated and full of red tape."
The bottom line on obtaining a wig
One of the biggest issues is working with a hair
replacement company that is professional, experienced
and reliable. It can be one less thing to worry about
when you're not feeling well and need all your strength,
advise both Johnston and Barker. "We really feel for
our clients who are suffering and a need a cancer-
related wig, and we want to do everything we can to
help them feel and look better so they can concentrate
on healing!"
Naomi Mannino is a freelance writer who writes about
health, beauty, and fashion. She is a contributing writer
for HairLossDotCom and writes about hair replacement
and hair loss treatments such as wigs .