“Is Cefaly covered by insurance?” is the question I’ve been asked most since the device was approved. The answer is probably not, but your insurance company may cover it as they would any TENS unit.
Cefaly does not currently have a procedure code (also called a CPT code), which is required for an insurance company to cover any medical device or procedure. A company representative told me FDA approval is the first step in the long process of getting a CPT code. They expect it to be one to two years before Cefaly has a code.
Hope is not lost! Some migraineurs have found that their insurance companies will cover Cefaly the way they would any TENS unit using an established code for those devices. Google tells me those are E0720 for a two-lead device and E0730 for a four-lead device. The problem? Cefaly only has one lead, which may trip up some insurance companies.
HomeCare, a magazine for the home medical equipment industry, says that to have a TENS unit covered for chronic pain, your doctor must submit a statement of medical necessity and “must determine that the patient is likely to derive significant therapeutic benefit from continuous use of the unit over a long period of time. The physician’s records must document a reevaluation of the patient at the end of the trial period and indicate how often the patient used the TENS unit, the typical duration of use each time and the results.” Unfortunately, the article also says TENS units are rarely considered medically necessary for headache disorders. (This is general industry information. What you encounter with your insurance company may be different.)
Don’t give up without checking with your own insurance company. Enough migraineurs have received positive responses that it’s worth a try. Please let us know if you have success and, if possible, which code your insurance company is using.
Update on Cefaly availability: As of April 9, 2014, the order page of Cefaly’s U.S. website says, “Order intakes on hold for a week because of limitation in the supply chain.” This notice apparently went up today, so I hope that means you’ll be able to order from them next week. I’ll keep an eye on the site and let you know if anything changes.
April 15, 2014: Cefaly has removed the “not currently taking orders” notification from their website. They appear to now be shipping previously ordered products and taking new orders.