The distinction that decides everything
Almost every question about cost comes down to one thing: whether what you have is a medical problem or a cosmetic one.
Usually covered. Varicose veins and venous insufficiency causing symptoms — aching, heaviness, swelling, skin changes, ulceration — where a duplex ultrasound documents reflux. Diagnostic venous ultrasound performed for leg symptoms. Consultations for pain. Joint and trigger point injections where medically necessary. Botox for chronic migraine, where the diagnostic criteria are met.
Usually not covered. Spider veins treated for appearance alone. PRP, which most insurers classify as investigational.
The grey area is real: spider veins driven by an underlying refluxing vein sit on both sides of the line at once — the surface treatment cosmetic, the underlying vein medical. We will tell you exactly where the line falls in your case.
What we do before you commit
We verify your benefits and tell you what we find. That includes what your plan requires — many insurers want documented ultrasound evidence of reflux and a trial of compression stockings before they will approve vein treatment, and Botox for migraine generally needs prior authorisation.
Finding this out after a procedure is how people end up with bills they did not expect. Finding it out first is not complicated; it just has to actually be done.
If we cannot help you
You will be told, and you will not be charged for a course of treatment that was not going to work. That includes being told when a vein is not the cause of your aching legs, when a joint is too far gone for an injection to be worth it, and when the problem needs a different specialty altogether.
Questions worth asking us
- Is my problem medical or cosmetic, in my insurer’s terms?
- What does my plan require before it will approve treatment?
- What will I be responsible for, and when will I know the number?
- If I need several sessions, what does the whole course cost?
Ask them. We would rather answer them at the start.