Starting September 1, 2026, UnitedHealthcare — the largest health insurer in the country — will stop separately reimbursing lactation consultants for the baby's portion of a home visit, paying only for the mother.
The company calls it eliminating "duplicate payments." Lactation consultants like New Jersey's Danielle Tropea say it cuts their reimbursement roughly in half — from about $250 to around $125 — for the same visit, the same baby, the same work.
The Affordable Care Act mandates breastfeeding support at no cost to families, so this is a billing-code workaround on a benefit the law guarantees. Here's how the trick works, and who actually pays for it.
SOURCES
STAT News — "UnitedHealthcare's lactation billing feud, and fake strokes": statnews.com/2026/06/08/unitedhealth-lactation-counseling-policy-medicare-advantage-audits-stroke
WHYY — "N.J. breastfeeding service providers face pay cuts with UnitedHealthcare insurance's lactation billing change": whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-breastfeeding-service-providers-insurance
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Andrew May? Yeah he has been in hiding and will likely be for the rest of his life.