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Cleft lip, or harelip as it is also called, is a congenital deformity. If it is not corrected in time, then the child will not be able to eat properly, speak properly or have normal proper teeth. Though it is plastic surgery, in the sense that it is done to correct and improve the appearance of a person, it is also a ‘necessary for health’ surgery. As such, most insurance companies cover the cost of the cleft lip surgery. They may, most probably, cover the entire cost, but one has to make sure whether this can be done. Different insurance companies have different laws. Cleft lip surgery does not come under the sick or the emergency category. Nor does it spell as a matter of life and death. People can go through life with a cleft lip, and many whose parents have not performed the operation in time, are doing it with great difficulty.
Appearance wise, a cleft lip evokes shock and/or pity from the viewers. On health grounds, though it is possible to eat and speak, it is with great difficulty. The cleft lip makes it very difficult to suck when young, to eat properly or speak coherently when grown up. It is done on health grounds and if the insurance company views it as such, then full payment can be done for this operation. Insurance companies need proof that the surgery performed is a real one, for correcting an illness. Since a cleft lip could be the result of some infection of the mother when pregnant, or the result of some wrong drug taken in the first trimester, insurance companies are bound to make the payment for the operation. The surgeon who has done the operation should give in writing the cause and the need for this operation so that the insurance company can then satisfy the claim of the patient.
The cost of cleft lip surgery is around $ 5000 in the United States. There are many donors available who will finance this operation and there are also many agencies which arrange for this operation for a discount. A Smile Train exists in poorer countries, which travels from place to place conducting this surgery. It is very important that the first surgery is done as soon as possible; preferably by the time the child is three months old. And if the parents or the guardians neglect to do it, the child has to go through life with a cleft lip. |
