Will insurance pay for me to reduce my cup size from 38G to a 36D?

Thank you for the question. I'm sorry to hear about the physical and probably psychosocial problems your breasts have caused. Based on your description, you may be an excellent candidate for breast reduction surgery.

 

Breast reduction surgery is one of the most patient pleasing operations we perform. By removing “excess” breast tissue, adipose tissue, and breast skin  this operation reduces and lifts the breasts to a higher position on the chest wall. By doing so, patients often find improvement in neck, back, and shoulder discomfort and find it easier to form their activities of daily living and exercise.

Sometimes breast  reduction surgery is covered through health insurance. The best way to obtain insurance coverage for breast reduction surgery involves some “hoops” to jump through. The more documentation you have (for example, from your primary care doctor, physical therapist, chiropractor etc.) the better when it comes to obtaining insurance “authorization” for the procedure.
This documentation and letter/pictures from your plastic surgeon will help you obtain authorization. 
When the time is right,  seek consultation with well-trained/experienced board-certified plastic surgeons.

Unfortunately,  no plastic surgeon is able to accurately predict what cup size you will end up wearing after breast reduction.  As you know, breast cup size will  different depending on the bra  manufacturer.  Therefore communicating your goals in reference to achieving a certain cup size may be confusing and/or a source of dissatisfaction.
I would suggest that you communicate your goals with your plastic surgeon ( I prefer the use of goal pictures)  and ask him/her to do his/her best to achieve the results you're looking for.




I hope this, and the attached link, helps.

From my experience, you are a great candidate for a breast reduction.  I do not think you will have any issue getting authorized, but as always you do need a bit of a paper trail.  You should find a surgeon, but also you will likely need a letter from your primary care doctor to support the diagnosis and to describe your symptoms. 

From the way you describe your situation, you sound like an excellent candidate for breast reduction.  It seems reasonable to believe insurance SHOULD cover all or part of the procedure to help you improve your well-being, but whether they WILL pay is another story.   I would suggest you do the following:

1) Call your carrier and find out exactly under what circumstances they may cover breast reduction

2) Develop a plan to follow their list of requirements to the letter, which may mean document, document, document

3) At the appropriate time, consult a board certified plastic surgeon who performs breast reduction often and get surgical recommendation

4) Be prepared to appeal if you're denied the first time

If you simply cannot gain the cooperation of your insurance company, you could consider a combination of saving for and financing part of your procedure.  In our experience, breast reduction patients are most often so thrilled with their new, lighter, sleeker bodies that you may well consider it worthwhile even without insurance help.

Elliot Jacobs, M.D.

New York Plastic Surgeon