Childbirth Education & Lactation
Serving Greater Lansing, MI
contact@abbiemullins.com
517.798.4878 (p)
517.225.0490 (f)
Lactation Visit
Preparing for your
You should receive a confirmation of your booking request shortly! Below are some important updates regarding illness and cancellation policies, more information regarding what to expect at your in-person lactation visit, and info on fees and insurance. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions! Most of this information is also in your booking confirmation that was just sent to your email. I am looking forward to working with you!
​
Please read carefully through the following regarding your upcoming visit.
Thank you for booking!
Covid/Illness Policies
More information about COVID/illness precautions, what to expect from me, and my expectations of you can be found on the COVD-19 / Coronavirus page. Illness / cancellation policies can also be found on this page.
Home Visits
For In-Home consultations, my primary service area is within the Greater Lansing Area. If you are outside of that area, please be aware there is a mileage fee of $0.655/mile for distances traveled greater than 20 miles (or greater than 40 miles traveled round-trip). This is based on the current year's federal mileage tax rate. Travel fees are not covered by insurance and are the client's responsibility. I do not travel to Grand Rapids, Detroit or Kalamazoo areas. I would be happy to find you a lactation consultant that serves your area!
Service Area
If you have any pets, please secure them in another room or area for our visit. I am an animal lover, and it is nothing against your special furry family members! Pets tend to become very protective of their tiny people, and I am a stranger coming into their space. They are usually also very curious about my consult bag and all the things inside. By doing this, it will help us to focus on you and your baby the entire time.
Pets
Clinic Visits
Rooted Counseling - Old Town Lansing
111 E César E. Chávez Ave, Lansing, MI 48906
​
Free parking is available in the lot behind Rooted or on Washington Street. There are metered spots out front. Enter the front of the building through the Rooted door using the door code your received in your booking confirmation. Once inside, enter the first door to your right. Take a seat in the waiting room and I will come get you at your appointment time. There is a restroom with a changing station down the hall and straight to the back.
Lansing Location
Clinton County Medical Center (CCMC)
1005 Old U.S. 27 Suite 100, St Johns, MI 48879
​
CCMC is in the Southpoint Mall in St. Johns. Enter the main Clinton County Medical Center entrance and turn left (the Ouch Urgent care is to the right). You may skip the registration/check-in window and head right down the long hall toward the Physical Therapy Area (glass doors). Head in and check in with reception. I will come meet you in the small waiting area.
St. Johns Location
Preparing for your Visit
Telehealth Visits
I offer synchronous, HIPAA compliant telehealth lactation visits. I have been offering telehealth even prior to the pandemic and am very comfortable supporting families in this way!
​
It's helpful to ensure you have adequate WiFi strength, good lighting, limit background noise, and if available have a helper for holding your phone/tablet/laptop in order for me to best visualize you, your baby and a feeding.
What to Expect
There are a few things you can do to prepare for our visit together! This helps us spend our time focused on you, your baby, and meeting your goals.
If you can plan on your baby needing to feed sometime within an hour after the start of your appointment time that would be best! I know however that sometimes, it is hard to predict when babies will be hungry. If your baby needs to eat shortly before your visit, please feed your baby enough to take the edge off of their hunger, but if possible not a full feeding so your baby will be ready to eat again sometime during your visit.
​
If you have a breast pump, please have it nearby or bring it to your clinic appointment as well as your tubes / flanges / bottles. We will make sure your flanges are fitting you correctly and will discuss how to optimize your pumping routine!
​
Secure Client Portal
I use a secure, HIPAA client portal for all communication, intake forms, notes, and booking. You can download the app to your phone or tablet or access the portal online at the address below.
​
https://abbiemullins.practicebetter.io
​
You will be receiving an email from me inviting you to create a password to activate your account and join the portal. If you don't see this email, check your spam, "Updates" or "Promotions" tab - it often ends up in that folder!
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
You should have also received another email with your appointment date and time that you can confirm.
When downloading the app, be sure to allow notifications as this is how we will communicate, how you will know which forms to complete, and also will let you know when your visit notes and education are posted to your portal. Alternately, some clients elect to have their notifications go to their email.
Your baby will have their own profile with their own health record and intake form. to complete their pending forms and see the visit notes and care plan after our appointment. In order to switch between your record and your baby's record, follow these instructions:
​
Computer
-
In the top right corner of the toolbar, click or tap on the profile image.
-
A menu will appear with an option to "Switch Profile".
-
Click "Switch Profile".
-
A screen will appear allowing you to select from a list of family records.
-
Here you can select your baby's profile
​
Practice Better App (phone or mobile device)
-
In the top left corner, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines)
-
Scroll to the bottom of the menu and select "Switch Profile"
-
Select your baby's profile
You will have a few intake forms to complete prior to our visit. These will all be in the client portal. At your earliest convenience, please complete your intake form, your baby's intake form, sign the consent for care, and fill out your COVID screening form.​ You will get notifications of the forms you need to complete via the portal.
​
-
Your Forms:​
-
Consent for Care, Payment Policy, Disclaimer, Release of Liability​
-
Illness Screening and Cancellation Policy
-
HIPAA Acknowledgement
-
Lactation Consultation Intake Form - Parent (your health history)
-
Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale
-
-
Your Baby's Form:​
-
Lactation Consultation Intake Form - Infant (baby's health history)​
-
By filling them out ahead of your visit, it allows me to prepare for our consult, start creating a plan to best meet your needs, and saves us time so we can focus on your feeding goals at your visit!
Intake Forms
Practice Better also has secure messaging which works like texting. This will allow us to communicate with each other before and after your visit while documenting it all in your chart!
​
You can access helpful tutorials on accessing and using portal on the Practice Better website. Below is a video tour of the client portal on a desktop:
Secure Messaging
During Our Visit Together
During your consult, here is what you can expect!
Together, we will:
-
Review your completed intake forms
-
Discuss your feeding goals and goals for the visit
-
Make a short term and longer term plan to help you meet your goals
Over the course of the visit, I will:
-
Take a thorough history of both you and your baby
-
Do a full assessment of:
-
You and your breasts
-
Your baby, including an oral function assessment
-
A full feeding if you are direct breastfeeding or by bottle if that is how your baby is feeding
-
-
Weigh your baby so we can check your baby's growth (in-person only).
-
Complete a pump fit assessment and ensure you are well oriented to your pump and pumping technique.
-
Answer any questions you have regarding your breasts and nipples, milk supply, feeding your baby, and your baby's growth and nutrition.
I will then share my assessments with you, we will formulate a plan going forward both for you and your baby, and I will review the education with you that will be provided in the portal. We will also make a follow-up plan if indicated and I will make any recommendations on referrals to other providers/specialists if needed.
Support After Your Visit
After our visit, you will receive a detailed Care Plan both for you and for your baby via Practice Better. It explains all we discussed during the visit and tips and techniques to meet your goals. Your Care Plan contains detailed instructions, videos, E-Handouts, and website links for more resources. This can be found under the menu in the "Session Notes" section as well as the Visit Notes with my clinical assessment.
A summary report of our visit is also faxed to both your healthcare provider, and your baby's healthcare provider. If I recommend you be seen by any other professional, I will also initial those referrals and fax them to the recommended provider.
After our visit, I am available to you for two weeks via secure chat in Practice Better for any questions you have and for support! There is an option to add on additional weeks of chat support after that two weeks, either one week at a time or on-going until you cancel. This gives you access to me for troubleshooting, quick questions, guidance, and further educational resources! If new issues arise, you would like more hands-on help, or if after two weeks, you are still having challenges, you may benefit from a follow-up consultation.
Insurance Coverage
For select in-person and virtual lactation visits, I'm excited to announce that I have partnered with The Lactation Network! This in an incredible organization that helps parents and parents-to-be get the feeding and lactation support they deserve, covered by their insurance. I encourage all parents to apply if you have any commercial health plan as TLN is adding more plans all the time.
​
​
​
For select health plans, Lactation Network guarantees insurance covered consultations with a registered IBCLC, like me, at no out of pocket cost. They handle the paperwork and bill your insurance directly. Pre-approval is required and is obtained online through Lactation Network. Participating plans are select:
​
Participating plans for in-person visits are most:
-
BCBS PPO Plans
-
Anthem PPO Plans
-
United PPO Plans
-
Cigna PPO Plans
-
PNOA Participating Plans (Provider Network of America - look for the logo on your card)*
-
Multiplan*
-
Veterans Affairs Community Care Network (VA CCN) Optum, Region 2
​
*This is the networks name, not your carrier. There are many different insurance plans under various names that participate in these networks. Look for the PNOA or Multiplan logo on your insurance card.
​
Select plans from the above insurance providers may not participate with TLN. Apply to verify coverage
​
Once you hear you are approved (usually within a day or so), you will not need to pay me at the end of our visit, will owe nothing out of pocket for your consultation, and the Lactation Network will take care of the rest! Let’s see if we can get it covered!
To see if your specific plan participates and get pre-approved, click the image below or head to Insurance Application | The Lactation Network AM-CE&L
Self-Pay / HSA
For Out-of-Network Plans, lactation consultation fee is due at the end of our visit together. You may use a Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account to pay for your visit. I also accept major credit cards, cash and check. I will then provide you with an electronic receipt called a Superbill. This is a special invoice with insurance codes that you may submit to your insurance company to request reimbursement.
​
If your insurance plan does not participate with Lactation Network, you are still entitled to insurance coverage of lactation support and supplies per the Affordable Care Act. It states "Health insurance plans must provide breastfeeding support, counseling, and equipment for the duration of breastfeeding. These services may be provided before and after birth. This applies to Marketplace plans and all other health insurance plans, except for grandfathered plans." (https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage/breast-feeding-benefits/)
​
If you are planning on submitting your visit for reimbursement, it is your responsibility to know your plan's coverage. It is always best to call the number on the back of your insurance card and ask about lactation coverage. If they say they will not cover my services because I am out-of-network, ask if there is an in-network IBCLC in your area. If not, they must cover out-of-network providers as a "gap exception" because there is not an in-network provider. If can also be helpful to ask what insurance codes they cover related to lactation support if they will provide you with that information. It may be helpful to have the following information ready for them if they request it:
​
My Provider Number: 1902346380
Procedure Code Used: S9443
Diagnosis Code Used: Z39.1
Insurance companies aims are first and foremost to make money, and so at times deny claims illegally.
The National Women's Law Center has great information about insurance companies, what should be covered, and reimbursement. They have helpful scripting when talking to your insurance company in their Breastfeeding Toolkit available for download.
​
Some insurance companies require a referral or prescription from your Obstetrician before covering your visit and can improve the likelihood of getting reimbursed. You can call your provider's office to request this.
​
If you would like to arrange a payment plan, please let me know at the time of booking and you will be billed in installments. If you anticipate paying for services would be a financial hardship, please contact me. I am willing to work with lower income families to come up with a reduced price or payment plan based on your income. I can also refer you to some local free support groups.
See you soon!
I am so looking forward to working with you! Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions at all.
.jpg)