And They Should Pay For Yours, Too!
“Do you suffer from painful, swollen or achy legs caused by varicose veins? Are you tired of missing out on activities you love because they cause your legs to swell and hurt? Are you embarrassed by the way your legs look? Many people believe varicose veins are a cosmetic issue only, and don’t understand the suffering people with varicose veins deal with. Varicose veins represent a serious medical condition that threaten your circulatory health.
Vein disease is one of the most common causes of leg pain, swelling, and wounds. For these reasons, a visit with a specialist to evaluate your problem, a venous ultrasound, and vein treatments are covered by insurance as long as they’re deemed medically necessary. It’s so frustrating hearing my patients went years without even knowing that their varicose veins were a serious medical condition that could qualify for insurance coverage. I’ve learned a lot after 12 years of helping our patients get their vein treatments paid for by their insurance company. Now, I am going to share with you the secret criteria insurance companies use to determine whether your treatments will be covered.”
-DR. TIF SIRAGUSA, MD, FACS
5 SECRETS TO GET YOUR VEIN TREATMENTS PAID FOR BY INSURANCE
1. Symptoms: Pain, Swelling, Heaviness, Etc
The first step towards getting your insurance company to cover your procedures is coming in for a New Patient Consultation with our team. Most of the patients we take care of suffer from some combination of leg pain, leg swelling, leg heaviness, dark skin patches, or even venous ulcers. These issues are more than just cosmetic and often have an impact on your ability to carry out typical daily activities. These activities include things such as completing your shift at work, the ability to exercise, running errands, doing housework and caring for children. Your insurance is more likely to cover your treatments if they know that your vein problems interfere with your ability to carry out any of the above mentioned activities.
2. Ultrasound: Your Venous Ultrasound Must Show Reflux!
In order to determine your personalized treatment plan, one of our specially trained Registered Vascular Sonographers will perform a complete ultrasound of the veins in your legs. This test looks for venous reflux (blood moving backwards in your veins). The insurance companies have very strict criteria regarding what your ultrasound shows. Fortunately, all of our certified sonographers are very familiar with these criteria, therefore, know exactly which details to include in your report. This report will then be closely reviewed by your insurance company. At this point, they will know that you meet their criteria for the ultrasound findings, as well for your symptoms.
3. Conservative Treatment: The Secret Sauce
Once your ultrasound is completed, we will discuss the “Conservative Therapy”. Each insurance company, Medicare, has their own set of guidelines you need to follow to get your procedures approved. This typically consists of wearing compression socks, elevating your legs, exercising, and resting when possible. Some insurance companies have additional requirements such as taking medications to improve circulation. At Siragusa Vein and Laser we are very familiar with all of the companies’ policies and will make sure we prescribe the correct conservative therapy for you based on your insurance company’s guidelines.
4. Insurance Specialist: Your Guide Through The Insurance Jungle
Once we have determined you have significant symptoms, performed an ultrasound, and completed your conservative therapy, the final step is to submit your case to your insurance company. This can be a very tedious process with many important details that the insurance specialist MUST be familiar with. Leaving out one small piece of information could mean the difference between having your procedures covered and paying out of pocket for everything. At Siragusa Vein and Laser, our insurance specialist, Beth, has several years of experience in navigating through the insurance jungle and coming out on the other side with an approval for your procedures. You can rest easy knowing that we have an expert to help you through each of these steps and that your legs are in very good hands. Once Beth gets your procedures approved, she will give you a call to schedule your first procedure and discuss any potential out of pocket expenses you may incur.
5. A Board Certified Vein Specialist
Siragusa Vein and Laser is very proud of our Board Certified Vascular Surgeon, and vein expert, Dr. Tif Siragusa who was voted Nashviille’s Top Vein Doctor two years in a row. Dr. Siragusa has more than 12 years of experience and has taught his techniques to physicians from around the country. He prides himself on personally developing each patients treatment plan to ensure every patient has the best results possible. Your personalized treatment will get you back to being able to do the things you love and proudly wear shorts or dresses.
Testimonials See what our patients are saying
“Dr. Siragusa is very informative, very personable, they really care and you feel like friends at the end of your treatment. I had some bulging veins and had an ablation done. My two biggest surprises were that my insurance paid for my treatments and the procedure only took 10 minutes and was a piece of cake, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. “
– Debbie R.
“I have had varicose veins that continued to get worse over the past three years and were causing me a lot of pain even just with walking and it was a tremendous amount of pain. I looked up a lot of different doctors online but after I saw his training and his credentials, I knew he was the best one for the job. I had the procedure done and it went smooth as butter. There was no pain and it was way easier than I ever expected. I’d recommend anyone suffering with vein problems to come to Dr. Siragusa, he’s the best in Nashville and I was more than pleased with his work. I was even able to get my treatment covered by my insurance, even though I had been denied in the past.”
– Freddy W.
Getting Your Insurance To Cover Your Vein Treatment
Many of our patients are very surprised to learn that Insurance often covers the treatment of symptomatic spider veins. The insurance specialists at Siragusa Vein and Laser have compiled a list of ways to get your insurance provider to cover your treatment.
Take The First Step
If you are ready to stop hiding your legs and dealing with the embarrassment of spider veins, let Dr. Siragusa and his team get you back to loving your legs and living your life.