Free Breastpump through Insurance

I discussed in my "Choices" post about breastpumps and which one i was choosing and why. The full disclosure is that as the 3rd of 4 sisters, one is passing down her very nice medela pump, which we really left me free to explore my options on my free/insurance-covered pump.

 I used the Aeroflow website and was very pleased by the experience. Aeroflow offers discount pumps for the uninsured, but more importantly, you fill out your information and they call your insurance company for you, communicate with you via phone and/or email about what pumps you are eligible for with your insurance as well as the cost difference if you'd like to upgrade to a nicer pump (which insurance will only partially cover). I filled out my info and had not heard back in 7-10 days so i sent them an email. Within 24 hours i had been contacted, was presented my options, my pump shipped the next day, and i received it AT MY DOOR a day later. I did all of my stuff over email. Some things to note:

• I use a Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance. I do not know how the process may differ for other types of insurance
• Most insurance companies do not approve pumps until at least your third trimester, so if you're not there yet, just put it on your to-do list
• They will ask for a breast pump prescription. Breastpumps were brought up and addressed by my doctor at my 27 week appointment and she wrote me a script then. 

So which pump did I choose? I chose an Ameda Purely Yours Ultra Tote.

Why did I choose this one? 

• Firstly, I knew i was going to have access to a high end medela pump regardless, so i decided it made sense to try something different. 
• Secondly, it turns out Ameda parts and Medela parts are largely interchangeable. I have already screwed a medela bottle onto the ameda pump and can attest that the bottles at least ARE interchangeable. 
• From reviews, Medela and Ameda run as the top brands. The biggest differences between them listed were that Medela is less comfortable and has an issue with milk backing up into the tubes which leads to mold. Ameda has no milk backup, but runs louder and its lightweight design feels a little cheaper. The milk backup issue was a big swayer for me. Among other options, i read that the lasinoh pump also has no milk backup issues
• Accessories: Among my fully insured options, the Ameda pump was rated well and comes with EVERYTHING. It came with a nice, insulated carrying bag (i would prefer a backpack but that wasn't an option), a cooler with 3 ice packs and 6 bottles, pump flanges in 2 sizes plus adjuster flanges and extra pieces as well as a drawstring bag to hold them, and some sample breast pads and storage bags. It can run on batteries but also came with a wall charger AND a car charger. Additionally and to my surprise, i received a separate package a day later from Aeroflow with 6 Medela pump bottles (which are compatible with the Ameda pump)

The whole thing came in the box shown, shipped in an outer Aeroflow box. This is the bag, which seems waterproof/wipeable, insulated, and has an extra pocket on the outside (i put 6 extra batteries in a zipbag in this pocket, since the Ameda uses 6AA batteries)

This is everything that comes in the bag. The cooler also came with a storage guide (temp guides, when to store, when to toss). You can see the pump is very small and lightweight

This is the inside of the bag "fully loaded" with everything it came with. I actually will only keep 1 set of flanges in here instead of the 3 sets it comes with, and i probably won't keep the user guide with it. There are two mesh pockets on one side and a velcro pocket on the other side in addition to the zippered pocket on the outside of the bag. The cooler and pump take up half the bag and currently i have all the attachments on the other half, but i would say there will still be about 1/4 of the bag freed up when i take the extra flanges out. 

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ETA: I wanted to add that i had contacted my insurance company about the covered breastpump process via their web app (because i hate phones) because your doctor recommends contacting your insurance provider first,  and I didn't get a message from them until 2+weeks AFTER i received my breastpump from Aeroflow. Aeroflow calls your insurance for you and communicates with you however is convenient for you (phone or internet). I didn't have to make calls, i didn't have to go pick it up, and i cannot rave enough about how happy i am with the ease of the whole process. There are other companies that do the exact same thing and some of them are region specific, but I had a very positive experience with Aeroflow.