Does Insurance Cover Laser Hair Removal Cost?

Laser hair removal is a multi-session procedure that requires you to take 6 to 12 treatments to get rid of unwanted hair on your face, body, and bikini lines. As it allows results to last longer than most other methods of hair removal, it is loved by women.

But, it is important to note that Laser hair removal is an expensive and time-consuming procedure with the cost of full-body laser hair removal reaching around $20,000 for the complete treatment.

While it can give you your dream hairless body with smooth skin, paying that amount every few years can be too heavy on the pocket, especially in this inflation, right?

So, are you wondering “Does insurance cover laser hair removal cost” to make it more approachable and affordable for yourself? If yes, let us find out.

Table of Contents:

• Part 1: Can Laser Hair Removal be Covered by Insurance?
• Part 2: Medical Necessity and Laser Hair Removal
• Part 3: Alternative Options for Coverage

Part 1: Can Laser Hair Removal be Covered by Insurance?

In general, laser hair removal cannot be covered by insurance as it is a cosmetic procedure in most cases and not a treatment for a certain disease. However, exceptions are always there.

First, remember that most insurance companies won’t cover laser hair removal for you as their policies do not include coverage of cosmetic treatments, especially when you can remove the hair with temporary methods at home.

Only a few salons or states have laser hair removal covered by insurance in certain parts of the body. For example, Southern California Kaser covers the price of facial hair removal.

In most cases, the insurance companies try to defer or delay the treatment even if you find a loophole in their policy and urge them to cover your treatment.

Laser Hair Removal for Gender Dysphoria

However, one of the major exceptions to covering the laser hair removal cost as a cosmetic procedure is

• Transgender people
• Gender-minority people

In these cases, laser hair removal is deemed necessary for such people to embrace their new gender and feel confident about themselves.

Laser Hair Removal for Medically Necessary Conditions

Furthermore, laser hair removal can be covered by insurance if you are suffering from a medical condition associated with hirsutism and have an absolute need to remove unwanted hair with a laser.

These conditions are called “medically necessary” and include,

• Pilonidal sinus disease where hair pokes the skin because of friction and makes a track there
• Infections of hair follicles as they are recurrent and painful
• Certain tumors where hair removal is necessary to treat the disease
• Hirsutism and hypertrichosis might also be covered by insurance if you can convince your company

Laser Hair Removal for Cosmetologists and Estheticians

Lastly, there is another exception where some states or companies cover laser hair removal. It is the removal of unwanted hair with laser in people belonging to the esthetology or cosmetology field.

Part 2: Medical Necessity and Laser Hair Removal

Conditions Requiring Laser Hair Removal

As we told earlier the conditions referred to “Medical Necessity” can be covered with insurance. Most of these conditions involve excess hair growth on the body and they include,

• PCOS: PCOS is a myriad of symptoms that can distress women including hirsutism, obesity, painful and irregular periods, infertility, and more.
• Cushing’s Syndrome: Excessive levels of steroid hormones like cortisol either due to increased production in the body or exogenous intake causes moon face, excessive hair, thinning of skin, and similar symptoms.
• Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia: Hyperstimulation of adrenal glands causes increased production of male hormones that lead to the development of male-like secondary sexual characteristics including excess hair in females.
• Tumors: Some tumors cause the over-secretion of male hormones and the development of excessive unwanted hair in the body.
• Folliculitis: Using waxing, shaving, and such methods of hair removal exposes the skin to the risk of hair follicle infection.
• Pilonidal Sinus Disease: This disease is characterized by the formation of a pus-filled sinus in the skin because of excessive hair.

All these conditions include several symptoms, out of which hirsutism is one, and a mentally stressful one at that. Therefore, these can be covered by insurance. However, you have to prove that you are eligible for the insurance and have a severe condition.

Documentation and Support

To claim the insurance for laser hair removal, you need to prove to your company that your laser hair removal is essential for you to go back to your daily life normally. So, you need to prepare the documents with medical tests including blood tests, hormonal status tests, and ultrasound along with a proper diagnosis and prescription from your doctor.

Additionally, you can ask your laser hair removal surgeon or healthcare professional to give you a written prescription for the absolute need for laser hair removal.

Also, it depends upon your insurance provider how they see the situation and let you redeem insurance for laser.

Part 3: Alternative Options for Coverage

As getting your laser hair removal by insurance can be a hectic and time-consuming, or even futile process, you can try these alternative options to achieve economical laser hair removal.

Discounts and Promotions for Laser Hair Removal

Look for the laser hair removal salons or clinics that have a promotion or certain discount. Then you can contact those and get laser hair removal at a reduced price.

In addition, contact the providers that accept Groupon and get your procedure done at a much lower price than usual.

At-home Laser-Like Hair Removal in Less Price

Even after discounts and coupons, laser hair removal might still be expensive costing a few thousand bucks, if not more. Therefore, the wisest choice in this case will be doing your own laser hair removal at home.

While a few laser hair removal devices are available in the market, we suggest getting laser-like hair removal as it is more safe and suitable for home use.

Ulike Air 10 IPL Laser Hair Removal Device is an at-home laser-like IPL hair removal device that can save you a lot of money and time. This device only costs $399, a fraction of what you will be paying for laser hair removal of a single part of your body. Additionally, you can get it at a discount right now.

Also, instead of going through laser treatments every few years, this device can last you for a long time and allow you to do your full body treatment or follow-ups as you like. Not to mention the painlessness and comfort associated with the next-gen ice-cooling technology of Ulike.

Conclusion

Laser hair removal, being a cosmetic procedure in most cases, is not covered by insurance. However, some countries, states, or insurance providers have policies that accept insurance for lasers in some particular cases.

We discussed such cases in detail and the process to claim your laser hair removal insurance in this article. Also, you can get laser-like hair removal without insurance at an affordable price with Ulike.