Re: Cranial Tech vs Hanger questions

[Guest guest]

Honestly, the feeling I get is Cranial is better. I have Hanger as it really was my only option. Yes, they do other things other than helmets like missing body parts etc. There has been an array of people in the waiting room. The Hanger band that I have has a holein the top. I have heard that the styles seem specific to each band. I don't mind the all over helmet with a hole on top. I heard other bands come only in white, but the Hanger band I could choose from like 30 colors and designs so I don't have to sticker it up. It's already "pretty". I also think the other brands work faster. I would have at least seen the other brands if I had that option but I didn't. My child is older so I don't think the time we are doing in the band would help you much. The office people were nice to

me and the ortho but clearly not the same office and you should feel comfortable with the people you are working with. Why did your insurance deny the other places? Maybe you could have a talk with them? You could get quotes from all three and compare prices etc. 8 months is getting up there so time is important to you.From: "Aggie, Allie" <allisongluther@...>Plagiocephaly Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 7:52:41 PMSubject: Cranial Tech vs Hanger questions

My daughter, Eleanor, is 8 months old and was just diagnosed plagiocephalic a couple of weeks ago.

We were originally referred by our pediatrician to Cranial Technologies (who use the Doc Band). I really liked their office and the people, and it made me very comfortable that cranial banding is ALL that they do, that it's their specialty. Also, my husband's nephew went to Cranial Tech and had a Doc Band for his treatment (plagio runs in the family).

Unfortunately, our insurance will only approve us to us Hanger. We haven't met with them yet, but have an appointment next week. I already have several concerns:

1) The woman from Hanger who called me was an idiot. This conversation was the first I had ever heard of Hanger, Inc, and I wasn't aware that they had their own band. So, I asked her what type of band they use (Doc Band, Star Band, etc), and she couldn't answer me. She just kept trying to put me on the line with someone else.

2) It seems that Hanger, Inc does other things besides cranial banding, but Cranial Tech specializes in it. That makes a big difference in my mind. This is my kid's skull we're talking about, I would prefer to go to someone who specializes in it.

3) The Hanger website didn't offer very many views of the helmets. Are all Hanger helmets the full-head ones? Or can they also be the partial head ones like Doc Band? Does that even make any sense?

4) The website also didn't offer any before and after pictures or give guidelines for potential treatment time. The lack of before and afters bothers me. Also, we were told at Cranial Tech that Ellie could potentially be done with treatment in 3-4 months. While I understand that every case is different, does Hanger generally take longer than Doc Band?

I am thinking about calling our insurance to see if they would pay anything for Doc Band and we just pay the difference, or if we are stuck with Hanger unless we pay all of it out of pocket.

I was hoping that I could get some different opinions and experience on the Doc Band vs Hanger and also get some pictures of kids in Hanger helmets?

Thank you so much in advance!

[Guest guest]

I had the same problem with cranial technologies not being covered. I used an orthotist who uses the starband helmet. I think its similar to hanger and we are still getting nice results.Sent from my iPhoneOn Jan 14, 2011, at 10:52 PM, "Aggie, Allie" <allisongluther@...> wrote:

My daughter, Eleanor, is 8 months old and was just diagnosed plagiocephalic a couple of weeks ago.

We were originally referred by our pediatrician to Cranial Technologies (who use the Doc Band). I really liked their office and the people, and it made me very comfortable that cranial banding is ALL that they do, that it's their specialty. Also, my husband's nephew went to Cranial Tech and had a Doc Band for his treatment (plagio runs in the family).

Unfortunately, our insurance will only approve us to us Hanger. We haven't met with them yet, but have an appointment next week. I already have several concerns:

1) The woman from Hanger who called me was an idiot. This conversation was the first I had ever heard of Hanger, Inc, and I wasn't aware that they had their own band. So, I asked her what type of band they use (Doc Band, Star Band, etc), and she couldn't answer me. She just kept trying to put me on the line with someone else.

2) It seems that Hanger, Inc does other things besides cranial banding, but Cranial Tech specializes in it. That makes a big difference in my mind. This is my kid's skull we're talking about, I would prefer to go to someone who specializes in it.

3) The Hanger website didn't offer very many views of the helmets. Are all Hanger helmets the full-head ones? Or can they also be the partial head ones like Doc Band? Does that even make any sense?

4) The website also didn't offer any before and after pictures or give guidelines for potential treatment time. The lack of before and afters bothers me. Also, we were told at Cranial Tech that Ellie could potentially be done with treatment in 3-4 months. While I understand that every case is different, does Hanger generally take longer than Doc Band?

I am thinking about calling our insurance to see if they would pay anything for Doc Band and we just pay the difference, or if we are stuck with Hanger unless we pay all of it out of pocket.

I was hoping that I could get some different opinions and experience on the Doc Band vs Hanger and also get some pictures of kids in Hanger helmets?

Thank you so much in advance!

[Guest guest]

Hanger and starband do take longer than docband but give the same resultsSent from my iPhoneOn Jan 14, 2011, at 10:52 PM, "Aggie, Allie" <allisongluther@...> wrote:

My daughter, Eleanor, is 8 months old and was just diagnosed plagiocephalic a couple of weeks ago.

We were originally referred by our pediatrician to Cranial Technologies (who use the Doc Band). I really liked their office and the people, and it made me very comfortable that cranial banding is ALL that they do, that it's their specialty. Also, my husband's nephew went to Cranial Tech and had a Doc Band for his treatment (plagio runs in the family).

Unfortunately, our insurance will only approve us to us Hanger. We haven't met with them yet, but have an appointment next week. I already have several concerns:

1) The woman from Hanger who called me was an idiot. This conversation was the first I had ever heard of Hanger, Inc, and I wasn't aware that they had their own band. So, I asked her what type of band they use (Doc Band, Star Band, etc), and she couldn't answer me. She just kept trying to put me on the line with someone else.

2) It seems that Hanger, Inc does other things besides cranial banding, but Cranial Tech specializes in it. That makes a big difference in my mind. This is my kid's skull we're talking about, I would prefer to go to someone who specializes in it.

3) The Hanger website didn't offer very many views of the helmets. Are all Hanger helmets the full-head ones? Or can they also be the partial head ones like Doc Band? Does that even make any sense?

4) The website also didn't offer any before and after pictures or give guidelines for potential treatment time. The lack of before and afters bothers me. Also, we were told at Cranial Tech that Ellie could potentially be done with treatment in 3-4 months. While I understand that every case is different, does Hanger generally take longer than Doc Band?

I am thinking about calling our insurance to see if they would pay anything for Doc Band and we just pay the difference, or if we are stuck with Hanger unless we pay all of it out of pocket.

I was hoping that I could get some different opinions and experience on the Doc Band vs Hanger and also get some pictures of kids in Hanger helmets?

Thank you so much in advance!

[Guest guest]

1) i wouldnt put too much on what the person on the phone knows as it could be a clueless receptionist.  not reassuring they are clueless but i wouldnt consider it as big a deal as the orthotist.

 

2)  that was actually secondary in my decision not to use Hanger

 

3) yes, some of the Hanger bands do not cover the entire head with just a hole, however even those weigh more than a Docband (cranial tech)

 

4) the orthortist frequently will be able to show you before and after pics, since Hanger does not specialise the experience of the orthotist is the most important.  so if she can show you before/after pics of patients she has done herself i would find that a lot more important than whats posted on a wensite for the whole country

 

There are many ppl who have had good results with Hanger, some will say it is just as quick too.  From my years on the board (over 3 yrs, my docband grad is 4 now) what i tend to see is it tends to take longer.  not a ton, a couple weeks, maybe 2 months in a really severe case.  however the heavier weight/size and this longer time is a trade off to the fact a docband can only be used 16 weeks PERIOD (and most outgrow it in less), so though it works faster they outgrow it faster.  if they outgrow it before theyre done they may need a second one.  Does anyone know if the current statistics are still that only 15% of kids need a 2nd?

 

As long as you are using an active band (cranial tech, hanger, starband, etc) the most important thing is the orthotist not the band.  we visited Hanger and the lady only took 1 measurement which oddly enough measured " normal " at only 3 mm assymetry when ct measured him in the moderate to severe catagory.  they also said they dont see improvement in the ears (his ear assymetry was our biggest concern).  at that point we called CT back.  that was when they told us that they dont know about hanger so cant say for them but considering my sons age (9 mo at the time of band), severity, etc they would expect him to wear it 3 mo and improve down to an 8 mm assymetry.  sure enough he wore it 3 mo and 1 day and improved even greater than that, down to a 4, 5 and 6 mm assymetry.  those were the main reasons we chose cranial over hanger plus the other 2 ppl i could find who used hanger here had bad experiences.  but ppl have great experiences at other hangers, there is a database on here where you can look and see if ppl have used the one your considering, also search the archives.

 

secondary reason for chosing docband for us was the fact they specialise in it.  plus if we had gone with hanger there was only the 1 orthotist who does bands at our location so if she got sick, quit, something happened, or if she even needed second eyes or opinion she didnt have that available.  whereas the cranial tech office went to had 4 therapists specializing in bands and there was a time they asked another to come in and look just to be sure.

 

As for insurance, hanger was in network for us too, cranial was out of network and state.  but we could go with cranial  by paying our out of network deductible and percentage.  however we were able to say cranial was the only cranial remolding place since hanger is technically orthotics.  by claiming that there wasnt a cranial remolding place in network (since cranial tech is the only one and not in network) we actually got it covered in network.  i am sure this is very unusual though b/c dhs company is self insured so we opted to go around the filing insurance and straight to the administration company instead

On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 10:52 PM, Aggie, Allie <allisongluther@...> wrote:

 

My daughter, Eleanor, is 8 months old and was just diagnosed plagiocephalic a couple of weeks ago. We were originally referred by our pediatrician to Cranial Technologies (who use the Doc Band). I really liked their office and the people, and it made me very comfortable that cranial banding is ALL that they do, that it's their specialty. Also, my husband's nephew went to Cranial Tech and had a Doc Band for his treatment (plagio runs in the family).

Unfortunately, our insurance will only approve us to us Hanger. We haven't met with them yet, but have an appointment next week. I already have several concerns:1) The woman from Hanger who called me was an idiot. This conversation was the first I had ever heard of Hanger, Inc, and I wasn't aware that they had their own band. So, I asked her what type of band they use (Doc Band, Star Band, etc), and she couldn't answer me. She just kept trying to put me on the line with someone else.

2) It seems that Hanger, Inc does other things besides cranial banding, but Cranial Tech specializes in it. That makes a big difference in my mind. This is my kid's skull we're talking about, I would prefer to go to someone who specializes in it.

3) The Hanger website didn't offer very many views of the helmets. Are all Hanger helmets the full-head ones? Or can they also be the partial head ones like Doc Band? Does that even make any sense?4) The website also didn't offer any before and after pictures or give guidelines for potential treatment time. The lack of before and afters bothers me. Also, we were told at Cranial Tech that Ellie could potentially be done with treatment in 3-4 months. While I understand that every case is different, does Hanger generally take longer than Doc Band?

I am thinking about calling our insurance to see if they would pay anything for Doc Band and we just pay the difference, or if we are stuck with Hanger unless we pay all of it out of pocket.I was hoping that I could get some different opinions and experience on the Doc Band vs Hanger and also get some pictures of kids in Hanger helmets?

Thank you so much in advance!

--

-mommy to Emma, Becca, , , , and Leah

[Guest guest]

the biggest single factor in effectiveness is not the band, but compliance to the 23 hr wearing and doing the physio. BegertSculptorwww.lesliebegert.com(415) 490 7131From: Tanja <tbasioli@...>"Plagiocephaly " <Plagiocephaly >Sent: Sat, January 15, 2011 5:20:51 AMSubject: Re: Cranial Tech vs Hanger questions

I had the same problem with cranial technologies not being covered. I used an orthotist who uses the starband helmet. I think its similar to hanger and we are still getting nice results.Sent from my iPhoneOn Jan 14, 2011, at 10:52 PM, "Aggie, Allie" <allisongluther@...> wrote:

My daughter, Eleanor, is 8 months old and was just diagnosed plagiocephalic a couple of weeks ago.

We were originally referred by our pediatrician to Cranial Technologies (who use the Doc Band). I really liked their office and the people, and it made me very comfortable that cranial banding is ALL that they do, that it's their specialty. Also, my husband's nephew went to Cranial Tech and had a Doc Band for his treatment (plagio runs in the family).

Unfortunately, our insurance will only approve us to us Hanger. We haven't met with them yet, but have an appointment next week. I already have several concerns:

1) The woman from Hanger who called me was an idiot. This conversation was the first I had ever heard of Hanger, Inc, and I wasn't aware that they had their own band. So, I asked her what type of band they use (Doc Band, Star Band, etc), and she couldn't answer me. She just kept trying to put me on the line with someone else.

2) It seems that Hanger, Inc does other things besides cranial banding, but Cranial Tech specializes in it. That makes a big difference in my mind. This is my kid's skull we're talking about, I would prefer to go to someone who specializes in it.

3) The Hanger website didn't offer very many views of the helmets. Are all Hanger helmets the full-head ones? Or can they also be the partial head ones like Doc Band? Does that even make any sense?

4) The website also didn't offer any before and after pictures or give guidelines for potential treatment time. The lack of before and afters bothers me. Also, we were told at Cranial Tech that Ellie could potentially be done with treatment in 3-4 months. While I understand that every case is different, does Hanger generally take longer than Doc Band?

I am thinking about calling our insurance to see if they would pay anything for Doc Band and we just pay the difference, or if we are stuck with Hanger unless we pay all of it out of pocket.

I was hoping that I could get some different opinions and experience on the Doc Band vs Hanger and also get some pictures of kids in Hanger helmets?

Thank you so much in advance!

[Guest guest]

I used the Doc Band for my son. My pediatrician and the staff at Cranial Tech

were easy to work with and they helped me along the way insurance wise as the

Doc band was not covered by our insurance. I dint even research if our insurance

covered any other bands. I was convinced on the Doc Band. The therapist,

evaluation and results wk by wk were great. I appealed to my insurance and we

received a reimbursement for most of what we paid. I was very pleased and

recommend it, for any one in a similar situation to appeal.

A letter from the therapist, pediatrician, positive studies on the band and a

letter from you stating why it's medically necessary, should do it. Researching

online was a big help I was able to find out what insurance on what state have

covered for the band adding this to the letter you are writing helps a lot.

I hope this information is helpful.

Good luck

I live in Tx and I have BCBS.

[Guest guest]

Yeah it works with BCBS because they lost a class action lawsuit somewhere and had to cover the bands. I even used BCBS as an example in my appeal. But other companies like mine still deny the claim despite all the documentation. But they said I can do an independent medical review which I will. I just need to figure out which independent reviewers in California are prone to approving docbands.