Orthotics
Aubrey's Sure Step (I'm not sure if there are different brands--that is just what our doctor does for kiddos) orthotics cost $1600 total, before insurance. Our insurance at the time covered the entire cost of them, but it would be different for everyone always dependent upon insurance. Her feet are really small and she was wearing a 0-1 size shoe before them. Now that she is on her feet, and they are growing a bit, she would wear a 2-3 without orthotics and wears a 3 with them on (which is all the time).
Replacement is debatable. There are a lot of little adjustments that they can do to her current pair, before we would have to replace them, but we know what to look for as she grows and see her doctor every three months. I'm hoping that we don't have to replace them too often:)
Hearing aids
Hearing aids cost about $3500. Our old insurance covered $1000 every three years (the warranty runs out after 2), and the rest is out of pocket. This is one of those loophole things that doesn't even work towards your deductible:( Our new insurance doesn't cover them at all. So after the warranty runs out, we are out of pocket for the whole thing and it doesn't go towards deductible either. The warranty that we got was about $200 and covers EVERYTHING...including water damage and if she looses them. Only thing is that if she actually looses them, we pay a small fee of $75 for new ones. Not bad all things considered.
Glasses
Since we haven't actually gone to get Aubrey's yet, I don't know the actual cost. We have pretty good vision insurance right now, so that should help, but I have heard that it is best to spend the extra money to get the completely flexible frames so that we aren't replacing them frequently. Ballpark I've heard is $600, but I guess all that would be again dependent on your individual insurance.
Her eye exams are done at a pediatric opthimologist, so we only pay our $10 copay for that visit and she gives us the prescription to have it filled at an eye glass store, so I think in the end we will come out ahead, because my eye exam always costs me WAY more than $10. So if you are in the market for new eye wear for your little one, I would definitely go to a pediatric opthymologist first and take the short cut on the the cost of the eye exam.
So there you have it...all her accessories for the year! I'm thinking that besides replacements, we should be done shopping for accessories for her now! It has been a busy and expensive couple months...but so worth it when we can see her up on her feet walking and hear her making new sounds and working so hard towards talking. I think that the glasses will just provide her with better sight for getting into trouble! Not sure we will enjoy that so much;)
I recently found your blog and have enjoyed reading about sweet Aubrey!
ReplyDeleteI just ordered glasses for my son Wesley. I was able to get the lenses on sale through a promotion, but regular price was $250 total for lenses and Fisher Price frames. Also, my son has Sure Steps and we were able to get them covered by Early Intervention here in Illinois. I don't know if EI is different by state or not, but maybe you could look into that when she outgrows the ones she has.
We just got glasses for Ella about 3 weeks ago....total they were $352 and our insurance covers $200 every other year (as if a pair of glasses will last a small kid 2 whole years,) but the frames came with a two year warranty and the lenses a 1 year warranty. We are already about to order new frames because hers are scratched up and thats with a non glare and scratch resistant coating on them. And she leaves them alone....not sure how the scratches got there. Oh well, it's free to replace : )
ReplyDeleteWow, that is a lot of money! I know about the cost of orthotics, our insurance paid about $1000 for Lucas's. It has been an expensive year for us too, after therapies and his recent hospital visit. But we reached our out of pocket max a while ago.
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