Re: Beginners Questions

[Guest guest]

Hi - it took us about 2 weeks for the band to be made after the fitting and we went with Starband at one week shy of 6 mo old. She is now 8 mo and has corrected from 14.8 mm off to 8.6 - so I would be pushy and TELL the doc - both if you have to that you want it now! I was pushy and it has paid off. We are primarily dealing with the tort tilt now - which is a bear.

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[Guest guest]

lets see, I am new and dont have a band yet so others probably can answer better but here we go with mine. I personally waited and am still waiting I was hoping for some more improvement even though he stopped imrpoving from respoitioning at 6 months I thought I would try some other ideas even though they say it is pretty rare to help after 6 months (and it didnt for us) but it gave me the time to see that it wasnt so to know I was doing the right thing. I would definitely get a consult to know the severity to help in your decision and then I would do what you are confortable with. The sooner can sometimes mean better results in less time. Had I known his measurements after his consult I would have banded sooner. Since the neurosurgeon said " it is so mild it isnt worth doing anything " I thought that was it until I finally decided to get a copy of his measurements from CT and realised he is far enough off that the repoing isnt going to do much for him. So I would definuitely say if you want to go sooner it cant hurt and if you want to wait I would do a consult so you can do it educated.

Yes you need a script and many insurances want a letter of necesity. Either doctor can write the script

They only take 2 wks to make and depending on where you go you may be able to get in quickly, our local Hanger and our nearest CT were both able to get us in within the week.

Havent been dealing with insurance except that CT was considered out of network for us (BCBS SC, CT is in NC for us) so we would have to pay and file ourselves and when CT called our insurance they told them all we needed was the letter of necesity and a script. When we called insurance they said the same thing though did say they are out of network so we woul dhav eto pay our $750 out of network deductible and then they would only cover 60% so we would be better to find an in network place. But many ppl have said they have successfully appealed this. You should probably check your policy, some have talked about exclusions on cranial orthosis now, others have talked about needing documentation that repo or something has been tried, it's an ongoing problem or you have to be t least a certain measurement off. Also many have had to appeal. If you call CT they will call your insurance to let you know what needs to be done. If they file your insurance it could take longer if you opt to wait for pre authorization so might be worth calling them way ahead of time.

I believe ppl were saying some active brands are around $2500, Docband is $3K but i know ours offers a 10% cash up front discount we were going to use as it brings it down to $2700. But if you dont do that i know ct has payment options.

On 7/6/07, kerriward2003 <kerriward2003@...> wrote:

My son was diagnosed with PP at 4 months. About 2 weeks ago at his 6 month appt we were sent to a neurosurgeon and we just had our first PT appt yesterday. The neurosurgeon wants to wait until he's 8 months, but I feel he needs the band soon and from reading many accounts on this site, it sounds like it takes a long time to get all of this moving. I'd rather have this already in motion at 8 months instead of delaying it but I don't know where to start.

Do I need a prescription for the band? Do I get that from his pediatrician or neurosurgeon? How long does it take to make it? Do most insurance companies cover it? What bases do I have to cover to ensure coverage? How much is it? Sorry for all the questions but I just don't know where to start.Thanks in advance for anything you can help me with.Kerri Ward

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