Does Insurance Cover Varicose Vein Treatment?

Does Insurance cover the cost of varicose vein treatments? It depends.  

To be safe and accurate, it is best to contact your insurance carrier to see if the vein treatment is covered.  The good news is, the offices at the BASS Vein Center will contact them for you, to see if the treatment is covered.  We have worked with most commercial plans including Aetna, BCBS, Anthem Blue Cross, Cigna, and United Healthcare; we also work with Medicare and Medical or county programs like CCHP and CHCN, and we are contracted with HMO’s like John Muir and Sutter Select.  Most insurances want to see that you are not getting vein treatments for cosmetic purposes, but that you are treating the underlying disease.  One of the underlying diseases most commonly is venous insufficiency.  Venous Insufficiency is what leads to varicose veins, this is where the blood flows backwards into the vein (also known as reflux) and builds up in the lower leg instead of traveling back up into the heart.  

Unfortunately, cosmetic sclerotherapy, which treats spider veins, is not covered by insurances, but it is an available treatment option by our vein doctors.

Here are some of the symptoms associated with Venous Insufficiency that MAY be covered if you’re suffering from the following:

• Leg Wounds
• Leg Pain
• Leg Cramping
• Leg Swelling
• Restless Leg Syndrome
• Venous Stasis
• Leg Heaviness

It is best to see a vein doctor if you have any of these symptoms so they can monitor and document the severity of your varicose veins.  Each insurance provider has different requirements, so it is best to see a physician to help guide you to your treatment.  At the BASS Vein Center, we will work with the patients to make the process as smooth as possible.

We are not contracted with Kaiser Permanente directly, so your vein treatment would not be covered by Kaiser insurance. Instead you will pay cash pricing, or we can setup an easy payment plan with our billing department.

For questions regarding co-pays, deductibles, or coinsurance, please call our office at 925-281-5912 and speak to one of our staff members. Our offices have been performing varicose vein treatments for over 20 years and have come to understand working with the different insurance companies.  We will do our best to ensure a smooth process, from your first appointment to your last, including working with your insurance company.