Will Insurance Cover Laser Hair Removal for Chronic Folliculitis?

laser hair removal is often done for chronic ingrown hairs of the beard, especially if keloids have started to form. It is doubtful that the insurance company will reimburse for the treatment, and even if they do, the amount they reimburse to the doctor could be so low that it wouldn't cover the cost to the doctor of the services rendered. Some insurance arrangements, especially managed care plans, wouldn't allow the doctor to balance bill you so either they accept the very low payment or they don't do the treatment. It is an excellent treatment for some, not all. See a doctor who does a lot of this treatment, on skin of your color, and ask if they could find out from your insurance company, with your history if it would be covered. Good luck.

There are several reasons why laser hair removal is not covered by insurance. The first is 99% of the hair removal is cosmetic. I know everyone feels their problem is the worst, but braces and large noses are not covered either.Second, there is no CPT code, or billing code for the procedure. That means that unscrupulous companies can state they will cover the procedure and mail a check for $20 and expect the doctor to accept that in full. The companies can make up the price since there is no code and no reasonable and customary charge (which in itself is another debate)  and thus it is cheaper for them to say we will cover it, and mail a low amount, than spend the time contesting it. Physicians learned the hard way after trying to help patients they were being ripped off. Since the laser hair removal market is NOT like the overcharged drug company market or outrageous hospital bills, and the market has multiple NON doctor laser hair clinics competing, the market price is very fair and not excessive.Some of the "insurance" type cases take two staff members an hour of time, on a $150,000 laser, that requires an annual $7000 service contract, and office overhead that is another $100 an hour and somehow a $20 or $40 payment is supposed to be reasonable. Thus it costs at least $200 to provide the service and a $40 payment is not going to cover that, and thus no one can do laser hair under insurance knowingly.