Cost of brace & supplies

[VegasMom]

Hi, I'm new to all of this...so please excuse me if I seem a little retarded. My 12 yr old daughter was recently diagnosed with Scoliosis (23 degree curve in her thoracic area). Her 1st consult with the Orthopedic is next week, but I imagine he'll be ordering a brace (possibly the Boston brace?). Maybe I'm jumping ahead a lil bit, but I'm a just curious about what the average cost is for this type of brace & supplies, etc. And what happens when she grows out of it? Do you have to pay all over again? I know her med. insurance covers the brace,...but the plan she has kinda sucks. I have a $750 co ins. for "orthotics" to satisfy before they'll pay anything.
If anyone out there has info., or experience on this issue, please let me know. I will pay for whatever she needs no matter what, but I still like to prepare myself for what's to come.
Thanks~

[rtremb]

VegasMom:
We paid $2,800.00 Canadian for a night brace for our daughter.
We will be paying about $3,000.00 Canadian for a Spinecor brace in the next couple of weeks.
Ruth

[VegasMom]

WOW! Was that your out of pocket cost? Or did your insurance pay for a portion? Thanks for your response.

[anwmom]

Hi VegasMom,

My daughter was put in the Boston Brace in March and it cost us about $1600. Unfortunately, our old plan had a huge deductible so we had to pay all of it out of pocket. However, when the Boston Brace did not give the results her dr. wanted, we opted for the SpineCor. The cost was around $3,500. Our insurance company did not want to cover the expense because it was a soft brace; however, we appealed their decision and the decision was overturned. They approved the brace and paid it at 100%.

Hope this helps! Good luck and keep us updated. This forum is a great source for support and information.

Stephanie

P. S. We are in the U.S. in Ohio.

[rtremb]

VegasMom:

Yes we pay for our daughter's braces ourselves - we have no health insurance and it is not covered by the Ontario government health plans.

Hope your insurance will cover the cost of your child's brace (if required) or at least part of the cost.

Have you considered a Spinecor brace for your daughter?

Ruth

[emarismom]

Vegasmom,

Since your daughter's curve is at 23 degrees, the doctor may OR may not
prescribe a brace. Most doctors tend to recommend bracing once a curve is at 25 degrees. If the doc doesn't order the brace then there is little chance
insurance will pay for it. My daughter's curve has been between 20-24 degrees for two years. I went to two ped. ortho. here in Miami, and neither
thinks that she needs to be braced yet. (She is 8 years old and her scoliosis
is related to Chiari/Syringomyelia, since she has surgery to deal with these issues, they feel the scoliosis MAY not ever progress).

I was not willing to keep on WAITING to see if the scoli would progress, so I
went ahead and got her into a Spincor brace. In the brace right now her curve is 14 degrees. I have an appeal in to my ins. company (blue cross), but at this point I am not counting on anything. The cost os the brace was about $3500.00 plus all of the xrays and consults.

I'm not sure that this will work, but it beats the option of waiting and having to go through another surgery.

[Leelee]

After insurance my family was left with about $400 to pay I think....but since I go to a shriners hospital they paid what was left anyway. about supplies...it can get pretty pricey because your daughter will need lots of undershirts, probably new underwear and bras, and probably a whole new wardrobe. Plus other things like powder and rubbing alcohol etc for when her skin gets irritated (and it will). and yes, when she outgrows it you will need to pay for another one.

[rtremb]

In Canada there are some charitiable organizations which will pay for all or part of the cost of back braces (i.e., President's Choice). The charity has to approve the application for the brace though before delivery of the brace is taken by the patient.

[VegasMom]

Thanks to everyone for all your advice! You've been such a big help. I am hoping my daughter might not even need the brace, as another member mentioned above. Since her curve is just at 23 degrees, maybe we'll get lucky. But a lot of what I've read on other sites, has led me to believe the brace is in her future. Since she's still pretty young, I imagine she may grow a lil more over the next few years. I can only hope she takes after her father's side of the family. (he's not too tall)
Anyway,...if anyone out there has any other advice, or a similar situation, let me know. I'm interested in knowing at what degree your child's scoliosis was when they were put into a brace. Thanks again!

[Sherie]

You seem to be on top of this, but a little advice because of our own experience, make sure your daughter is being followed closely now, probably every 3 months. My daughter was also diagnosed at 12 with a 25L curve, we were told to watch and wait, it shot up to 35 in 6 months. We were shocked to say the least. Unfortunately, they don't know who will progress and who won't so all you can do is be vigilant. You might also do some research on the Spinecor, my daughter was in both a hard and th Spinecor brace, there's no comparison as far as comfort. It seems like the smaller curves, under 30, are responding pretty well to it.

[emarismom]

Vegamom,

I just want to clarify that although I said that both of the orthopedics that my daughter sees have recommended that I "Wait and Watch", I do not gree with them at all. That is the reason why I went ahead and got the Spincor, against their recommendations. Evem if the doctors recommend to wait, then you are taking a risk by waiting and as Sherie said, it is very important that you be very vigilant. If the curve does progress, it can progress very rapidly.

In today's day and age, where it often takes a month or more to get a doctors appointment, then see an orthotist, etc, getting the brace when progression has already started may be a very stressful situation.

[rtremb]

VegasMom:
I agree with Sherie and Emily's mum. The curves can progress quickly and early bracing with Spinecor offers a good opportunity to try to stop progression while maintaining back muscle strength.
Ruth

[Celia]

I agree with everyone else... don't wait, you'll be dealing with major guilt and regret if you do. I've pasted two articles on Juvenile scoliosis which may help you in your decision. You'll need pdf reader to access the files.

Regression of Juvenile Idiopathic Scoliosis: William E. Stehbens* and Rachel L. Cooper

http://www.scoliosis-support.org/uploads/juvenile.pdf

Progression Risk of Idiopathic Juvenile Scoliosis during Pubertal Growth: Yann Philippe Charles M.D. et. al.

http://www.scoliosis-support.org/mod...1&lid=30&cid=4

[VegasMom]

Thanks again everyone. I never thought I'd get such a huge response! I will def. get a 2nd opinion if the Orthopedic she sees this week doesn't order a brace. I don't want to even take a chance of her possibly becoming worse & ending up having the surgery. She is also prepared to wear the brace for as many hours needed. 23 hrs a day even. I'm lucky to have a child who is very intelligent & understands just how important this all is. She has been doing a lot of internet research herself & came accross the website spinekids.com It's an excellent site for kids to get educated, support, & read dozens of stories by other kids. They even encourage others to wear the brace...or else! I like that. They all need to know that they can't just go to school & hide the brace in thier locker,....or refuse to wear it cause other kids are being jerks. My daughter is a very positive & upbeat kid, & I think she will do well. Attitude is everything....I believe. Thanks again you guys!
Sincerely,
VegasMom

[Celia]

I'm confused! For some reason I thought your daughter had juvenile scoliosis - which is a different ball game altogether! She's 12 years old? I guess the articles will apply to some extent.