How to Get Feeding Therapy Covered by Insurance (Even If They Say No)

When I got a bill for hundreds of dollars for a routine prenatal visit — something that should have been 100% covered — I felt that familiar pit in my stomach. 

I avoided the bill.
Honestly? I couldn’t even look at it for a while.

I felt confused, overwhelmed, and honestly a little ashamed — like, how did I not see this coming?

They had paid for some of the labwork, but not all of it.
They covered the glucose test, but not the sonogram.
Wait — what? If a first sonogram or anatomy scan isn’t considered “routine” and “preventative” then what is?

Am I really going to owe them this much?
Why is this so unclear?
This sucks.

I carried it for weeks.
It weighed on me. Not just financially — emotionally.

Until one day, I felt it pulling at my energy.
I couldn’t pretend it wasn’t there anymore.
So I did what I tell my clients to do when something feels off:

I dug in.
I researched everything I could.
I asked hard questions.
I pulled up my insurance policy, my explanation of benefits, and even the Affordable Care Act.

What are the actual laws?
What are my options?
Can I appeal this?
Maybe I don’t actually owe this money…?

And guess what…

💥 I won.

My appeal was accepted. The bill was wiped clean.

But more importantly — that moment lit a fire under me.
Because if it was this hard for someone like me (a feeding therapist with years of experience navigating systems)…
Imagine how many families are getting denied and just giving up.

Why So Many Families Need an Insurance Appeal for Feeding Therapy — And Why It Feels Like a Mind Game

Some families seem to sail through the process.
Their insurance covers most things, they submit a few forms, maybe call once, and boom — done.

You know what I say to that?

They probably just have better insurance.
Or they got lucky.

Because for the rest of us? It’s a mess.

Even with the so-called “good plans,” it’s rarely straightforward.
There’s always a catch. Always a surprise. Always a phone call that ends with more questions than answers.

And if you have a high-deductible or terrible plan?
Forget it. It’s a constant uphill battle.

You call, and the rep on the other end has no idea what feeding therapy is.
You explain it, hoping they’ll understand… and they just repeat the same canned lines from a script.
They can’t answer your questions.
They don’t know what to look for.
They pass you off to someone else, or tell you to “resubmit it and wait.”

Meanwhile… your child still needs help.
And you’re stuck paying out of pocket while playing phone tag with strangers who don’t even understand the service you’re trying to get covered.

It’s infuriating.

You send everything in — your superbills, your diagnosis codes, your therapy notes — and what do you get back?

❌ “Missing information.”
❌ “A code wasn’t accepted.”
❌ “We need medical records.”
❌ “We can only reimburse the Medicaid rate.”
❌ “Feeding therapy isn’t a covered service.”
❌ “Try submitting it again with a different form.”

What? Seriously?
None of it makes any freaking sense.

And here’s the part no one tells you:
🛑 A lot of insurance companies automatically deny claims the first time around.
🛑 It’s a tactic. A delay game.
🛑 They’re counting on you to give up.

It’s not just paperwork — it’s psychological.
It’s a system that wears you down until you stop fighting.

And that’s exactly why I created the toolkit — because no parent should have to figure this out alone, in the middle of trying to help their child thrive.

Here’s What No One Tells You About Insurance Appeals For Feeding Therapy……You Can Fight Back — But You Need the Right Tools

Yes — you can fight back.
And yes — a lot of denials actually get overturned when you know what to say and how to say it.

But here’s the truth:
I’m not a lawyer. I’m not a billing specialist.
I hadn’t walked any other families through this when I started — I was just a parent staring at a confusing bill, wondering what the heck happened.

But I refused to believe that this was it.
So I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.

What do they need?
What’s the actual appeal procedure?
Are there laws on our side?
Are there any loopholes to help parents paying out of pocket?

(Spoiler: YES. There are.)

With some deep digging, I found out:

I discovered things like the GAP policy exclusion — something most parents have never heard of — that can actually force your plan to cover an out-of-network specialist if there’s no equivalent in-network provider.

I pulled together everything I learned — all the codes, forms, templates, and insider tips — because I knew other parents were drowning in the same confusion I was.

The truth is: unless you work in healthcare or law, you’re not supposed to know how to fight this.
But now?
You don’t have to.

That’s Why I Created the Insurance Appeal For Feeding Therapy Toolkit

“Do you take insurance?”
It’s the first question my admin hears almost every time she picks up the phone.

And believe me — I wish the answer could be yes.
But here’s the truth: if I said yes, I wouldn’t be able to help your child the way they actually need.

Because the second you work with insurance, you work for them.

Your pediatrician, your OB, your surgeon — they’re all bound by the rules of the insurance company.
They don’t get to decide how long to see you. The insurance company does. Because time is money and they don’t pay much!
They don’t choose how many visits your child needs. The insurance company does.
They don’t get to treat the whole child — they’re forced to check boxes.

Let me spell it out for you:

Here’s something most people don’t know:
Speech therapists don’t get paid by time.
Unlike other professionals with timed billing codes, we get the same rate whether we spend 5 minutes or 90 minutes.

And because of that? Many clinics — even the “big name” ones — limit sessions to 20–30 minutes max.
I’ve heard horror stories of 17-minute sessions.
And guess what? Parents are still billed their full copay for that.

Why?
Because low reimbursement rates force providers to cram more sessions in to stay afloat.
It’s not that they don’t care — it’s that they literally can’t afford to run a business otherwise.

That’s not care. That’s survival.

But I didn’t become a therapist to survive the system.
I became one to change it.

That’s why I don’t work for insurance.
I work for you. And your child.

Now — I know not every family can afford our top-tier in-person therapy.
And that’s why I’ve created a whole spectrum of support:

But even with all those options, I knew families were still hitting a wall when it came to paying for it.
And while I can’t personally file insurance claims for every family… I can give you the tools to do it yourself — the right way.

🧰 Inside the Insurance Appeal For Feeding Therapy Toolkit, You’ll Get:

✅ A fully customizable insurance appeal letter template
✅ A breakdown of denial codes — and how to respond to each
✅ A Denials Translation Guide that explains what confusing language really means
✅ A printable cheat sheet on your rights under the ACA (yes, even for feeding therapy!)
✅ A step-by-step instructions page on how to file your appeal
✅ Language to use when calling your provider or plan rep
✅ A superbill sample to make sure you’re submitting everything correctly
✅ A list of supporting documents insurance companies often request — and how to prep them
✅ And tips for what to do if you still get denied after the first appeal
BONUS: 💬 Email/phone scripts to use with your doctor’s office or plan

I spent hours researching this, testing it, refining it — not just for me, but for you.
Because you shouldn’t have to spend 6 hours on hold to get your child the help they need.

Before You Go, Let Me Ask You This:

If money weren’t an issue…

What kind of care would you want for your child?

✨ Who would you hire?
✨ What level of support would you choose?
✨ Would you settle for the rushed, insurance-approved clinic?

Or would you go all-in on the provider who actually knows their stuff — the one who sees the whole child and fights for real progress?

If your answer is: “I’d hire the best person for the job — even if they cost more”…

Then this toolkit is your next step.

Because here’s the truth:

You get what you pay for — yes.
But maybe… you also get what you fight for.

🛑 Don’t settle for the 17-minute session.
🛑 Don’t keep paying copays year after year with no change.
🛑 Don’t assume “insurance said no” means it’s the end of the road.

We’ve already had families come to us after those dead-end experiences — defeated, depleted, and ready to give up.
But they didn’t. They fought for something better.
And you can too.

Grab the Insurance Appeal Toolkit

Everything you need to appeal, push back, and maybe — just maybe — unlock the care your child actually needs.

➡️ Click here to get it for $25

Because if you want the best, and you’re willing to fight for it…
You just might get it.