by Michelle Stein posted in Parenting

When my first child was born in 2011, I was so thankful that my dad gifted us the breast pump on my baby registry.
Even though it's not one of the "fun" things to buy for an expecting mom, that double electric pump ended up logging more hours of usage than any other item on my registry, aside from the crib. (And let me tell you, it wasn't exactly cheap.) Truthfully, my husband and I probably wouldn't have been able to swing the cost of the pump had it not been a baby shower present.
Enter: The Affordable Care Act.
Because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 -- also referred to by many as Obamacare -- insurance companies are now required to cover a breast pump for each pregnancy. (Note: It wasn't until August 2013 that the breast pump regulation officially went into effect.) So it wasn't until I was pregnant with my third child that I was able to acquire a high-quality double electric Medela pump through my insurance at absolutely no cost. It was such a relief.
But all that seems to be changing for one insurance company. And that's bad news for breastfeeding moms and babies.
As of April 1, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield has cut what it spends on electric breast pumps nearly in half -- from $169 to $95, The Virginian-Pilot reported. This will affect customers in 15 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Virginia and Wi...