Our 8 yr old has been on EleCare/hypoallergenic formula since he was 9 months old. His first 3 years of life, he went from no safe other foods to 3 kinds of fruits and beets that he could eat. Slowly,
Read moreImmunoglobulin E & non-Immunoglobulin E-mediated allergies to food proteins
Vikram Christian, MD
As a pediatric gastroenterologist, I take care of children with diseases of the digestive tract. Medical nutrition is often the treatment of choice for these conditions. Insurance denial is particularly frustrating in the case of a motivated child who intends to consume the prescribed nutrition by mouth but is told that he/she would require a feeding tube to have this therapy covered by insurance.
Read moreJeremiah, Age 7
Our family is currently affected by having to pay out-of-pocket for medically necessary formula (Elecare, Jr) for our now 7-year-old son. Jeremiah was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) back in June 2013. Prior to his diagnosis, he was very sick
Read moreLauren, 7 months
Medical Foods Coverage would greatly reduce our out of pocket cost especially at daycare, having to provide her formula for the next year will be hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Read moreAliza (3) and Vayda (newborn)
I have two daughters, three years and almost one month. We didn’t have a diagnosis for my oldest for 15 months. Her leg broke walking in the grass from lack of nutrients. When we got a diagnosis and were able
Read more
Lillian, Age 2
This is Lillian. She is almost 3 and still drinks formula because she has an eosinophilic disorder. Lillian has Eosinophilic Esophagitis. It’s a pretty rare autoimmune disorder that when she has certain foods, makes eosinophils (a type of white blood
Read moreMarcella, Age 15
Marcella was diagnosed with multiple food allergies in 2016. She is allergic to soy, peanuts, tree nuts,fish, shellfish, along with a slew of environmental allergies. We have lost count of how many times we have had to administer epinephrine, hospital
Read moreCody, Age 6
Coverage for medical nutrition is dictating our decisions on treatment. We cannot afford to pay for the formula so are delaying treatment because of the fact that it is not covered. I fully believe that insurance not paying for something
Read moreCaroline, age 18 months
Caroline was born 7 weeks premature. She stopped breathing several times almost dying. Neocate Jr is the only think she eats to survive. Cigna refuses to cover it. And its $800 out of pocket. Employer switched to Cigna who refuses
Read moreElsie, Nearly 2
Prior to switching to my husbands employer benefits we paid $125 per month out of pocket for our daughters formula. When my husband brought home his welcome packet with insurance information in it we immediately flipped to the section about
Read moreLiam, Age 5
Liam has struggled with GI issues, food avoidance, and maintaining growth since he was born, but the issues intensified once we tried to start introducing solid foods. His pediatrician told me time and time again that we just needed to
Read moreAvery, Age 3
Coverage would ease a huge financial burden for our family. Not only is the formula expensive, but so is the specialized diet Avery requires due to so many severe conditions. Due to the fact that Avery supplements diet with Elecare
Read moreKE, Age 16
I am a city worker. The free insurance didn’t cover feeding tube supplies or formula. So I had to switch to an insurance I had to pay for each check. If this bill were passed I could switch back to
Read moreBenjamin, Age 1
Because of the cost of desperately required essential nutrition (allergen free toddler formula) I have chosen to continue breastfeeding my son. This has been a sacrifice of not only time (as a full time working mother) but also limiting my
Read moreJulian, Age 13
My employer, though great for everything else, is self-Insured. Due to this fact they are not required to cover my 13 year old’s formula.
Read moreWalker, Age 5
We have many bills due to traveling out of state to help our 5 year see doctors that specifically help his condition. By not paying $250 a month for the formula he drinks to get nutrients he needs to grow
Read moreSeton, Age 3
Our son was diagnosed with FPIES at around 7 months of age. He is intolerant or allergic to upwards of 40 foods. Even at the current age of 3, he can only eat about 10 foods including the formula (medical
Read moreLincoln, Age 2
Lincoln was diagnosed with a severe milk protein allergy at 2 weeks of age after blood was visibly seen in his stool. His pediatrician changed his formula from Similac to Alimentum RTF (I had a double mastectomy) and this continued
Read moreJamus, Age 9
My son, Jamus, has FPIES plus and our medical team thinks he has something that doesn’t even have a name put to it yet. He will turn 9 on Thursday and he has NO SAFE FOOD. He is 100% tube
Read moreDylan, Age 5
Told we were “too rich” to qualify for medical foods coverage but if we liquidated all our assets we could qualify for limited help.
Read moreMax, Age 17 months
My son, Max was diagnosed with FPIES after I stopped breastfeeding and he started on milk-based formula and we started introducing solid foods. He had terrible gastrointestinal reactions which almost ended up in the ER on a couple different accounts.
Read moreApril, Age 17
My daughter has EoE allergies and IgE allergies and is already a tiny girl. At 17 yrs she only weighs 100lb. We are still trying to figure out all of her triggers, which is a long process. We have so
Read moreRemington, Age 18
Remington was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis as a toddler. By the time he was 3 years of age, it became clear that food was worsening his condition. By taking so many foods out of his diet, he was at risk
Read more