SimpliFed announces partnership with national supplier to expand access to insurance-covered breast pumps

SimpliFed, a virtual platform for baby feeding services, has teamed up with Byram Healthcare, a supplier of breast pumps, to expand access to breastfeeding support.

Through the partnership, new and expecting parents will have access to virtual support to navigate breast pump selection and use as well as for breastfeeding. SimpliFed will provide the navigation and counseling services, while Byram Healthcare, one of the largest national suppliers that is in-network for most commercial, Medicaid and TRICARE plans, will offer the pumps. Most marketplace plans are required to provide coverage for pumps and counseling under the Affordable Care Act, though the kind can vary.

“SimpliFed and Byram share a joint mission to facilitate access to both baby feeding support services and products to families across the United States,” Andrea Ippolito, founder and CEO of SimpliFed, said in an announcement. “Access to trusted products like breast pumps from Byram coupled with services make such a big difference for parents.”

SimpliFed’s lactation and baby feeding services are available without prior authorization or cost sharing for many plans across the U.S. The latest partnership comes at a time of increasing breastfeeding rates, the companies said in the announcement. Last year, the White House announced the launch of the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, which called on expanding breastfeeding support and counseling for mothers. 

For parents with a pump, “having access to support alongside it is oh-so critical,” Ippolito told Fierce Healthcare. Many parents don’t know that insurance covers breast pumps nor which one to select that is the right fit. “So much of the maternal healthcare journey is a maze,” Ippolito said. “There is no one size fits all.” 

SimpliFed will help parents understand their benefits and pick the right pump as well as supervise an initial pumping session if needed. “Parents need modern solutions to help with their modern lifestyles,” Ippolito said. The majority of parents the company works with use pumps in the first year of their baby’s life, so SimpliFed expects this new offering to be really popular: “This is just a great way to improve access to trusted resources.”