Some insurers reimburse at least a portion of bioidenticals, as long as at least one of the active ingredients is on a list of approved prescription drugs, says registered pharmacist Larry Stephens, of Birmingham, Alabama. But "only a few companies pay the usual and customary charges for the bioidenticals," Stephens says. "Instead, they reimburse for the ingredient cost plus a small fee, which doesn’t come close to covering it all." Insurance rarely reimburses for saliva testing.

Originally published in MORE magazine, November 2006.