What a DME Partnership Taught Us About Breast Pump Support: Our Conversation with Neb Medical

We talk a lot about support from the mom's side of things. What it means to have what you need (when you need it), what it looks like in a flange that finally fits, what it sounds like when someone picks up the phone and actually helps. But support also shows up in the durable medical equipment (DME) partners who get a pump into a mom's hands in the first place, long before she ever knows our name. 

So, we sat down with Zac Buikema and Scott Colbert, cofounders of Neb Medical, to hear what two decades in this industry has taught them. Zac and Scott have been business partners since 2004. Zac co-owns Neb Medical with Scott and has helped guide the company since day one. Scott runs outside sales, building relationships with referral sources, lactation consultants, and the moms who ultimately receive the pump. 

From Pediatric Nebulizers to Breast Pumps: The Neb Medical Story 

Here is a detail we did not expect: the "Neb" in Neb Medical comes from nebulizers, not breast pumps. The company's original mission was getting pediatric nebulizers for kids with asthma or bronchitis fast, right at the doctor's office, because a sick kid cannot wait a week for equipment. 

"Breast pumps kind of fit that same model," Scott told us. "You'd go to these hospitals, you'd go to these clinics, you'd go to these WICs, and you'd have mom in there. She needed a breast pump today. She didn't have a week to wait for it. She didn't have two days to wait for it. She needed it immediately." Neb Medical applied the same operating model they'd built for nebulizers: supply a quality pump on site, train mom before she leaves the hospital, and let her start pumping the moment she gets home. Same urgency, same patient, different piece of equipment. 

Today, Neb Medical is an in-network provider for most major health insurers and is accredited by the Joint Commission. Alongside breast pumps and maternity accessories, the team supplies nebulizers, incontinence supplies, and continuous glucose monitors. They check coverage with a patient's insurer, bill insurance directly, and ship supplies to the home. You can learn more at nebmedical.com. 

Entering a Two-Brand Breast Pump Market: Why Neb Medical Chose Zomee 

When Neb Medical first encountered Zomee, the breast pump market had exactly two major manufacturers. "Zomee kind of popped up out of nowhere," Scott remembers. "I can't even remember where we first were introduced to it. But I remember taking a look at the first pump and thinking, wow, this is going to change the game." 

What actually earned the shelf space, according to Scott, was that Zomee listened to what moms were asking for instead of assuming a pump is just a pump. "A lot of people say a pump's a pump, but it really isn't," he said. "The Zomee pump always had more features than any other pump." He pointed to multiple flange sizes, portability, rechargeability, and a customer service team of moms that moms could actually reach. 

Why Flange Fit Is Critical to Breast Pumping Success 

We hear this from lactation consultants constantly, and Scott said the same thing from the DME side: flange fit is not a footnote. It is often the difference between a mom who keeps pumping and a mom who quits. 

"A lot of our moms don't have disposable income to go out and trial a bunch of different sized flanges," Scott explained. "Just supplying multiple flanges was really a game changer. It really made the success rate for these moms who are pumping go way up." 

That is exactly why our Perfect Fit Promise™ exists, and why we keep leaning harder into flange range instead of treating it as an accessory. For a lot of moms, the correct flange fit is the thing standing between pumping and not. 

Breast Pump Reliability and Clinical Support: What DME Partners Look For 

Reliability was the first thing Zac wanted to highlight. "I think reliability has been a big positive in our partnership with Zomee," he said. "We have very few units that fail, so I really want to highlight that." 

A pump that fails is not a minor inconvenience for a DME provider. It is a missed pumping session, a stressed mom, and a phone call nobody wanted to make. Zac also pointed to the clinical support Neb Medical receives from Zomee: "the clinical support that we've received from Zomee has been great, supporting the LCs and the hospitals, educating them on the quality of the products, on how the products function." 

Scott walked us through what happens when something goes sideways on the equipment side, and it comes down to who picks up the phone: 

"Zomee's always been available with your reps or your product specialist that could jump on a quick online meeting and answer some common questions," he said. "Our hospitals know they can pick up the phone and get one of your reps on the line and work through a problem, kind of troubleshoot on the spot." 

That tracks with how Zomee built their customer support team: comprised of moms and CLCs, so the person answering the phone has not just the training but the actual experience to help these customers. 

Wearable Breast Pump Coverage: What Lactation Consultants Are Seeing Right Now 

We asked Scott about wearables specifically, since insurance coverage for them has historically been a fight. His answer tracked something we have been seeing too: the hesitation is fading, fast. 

"We were hesitant at the beginning to promote the wearables because our clinicians were hesitant to recommend them; they were new and our LCs weren't comfortable with them," Scott said. "But over the past year, we've seen a shift to where these moms want a wearable or nothing at all. The LCs have dove into them, trialed them, and they're a little bit more confident in the wearable market now." 

He added that the Zomee Fit and the Mother's Nature W1 are now getting covered. Coverage varies by plan, but both may be covered by many insurance plans, so it's worth checking with your insurance provider or DME. 

Zomee has worked hard to get that coverage for moms. Not only to provide more options, but to make pumping more accessible for everyone. Scott noted LCs are still more cautious with first-time moms right out of the hospital and tend to feel more comfortable writing a wearable for a mom on her second, third, or fourth baby who already has a good milk supply and knows what she is doing. But the trend line is clear: "I think [moms] are pumping longer because of the ease of use, and that's the name of the game." 

Quick-Fire Q&A: A DME Partner's Honest Take on Zomee 

We closed with three rapid questions, because sometimes the most useful answer is the one given without time to overthink it. 

Why DME Partnerships Matter for Breastfeeding Support 

A pump only does its job if it gets to the mom who needs it, fits her, and keeps working long enough to matter. Neb Medical has been doing that work for over 20 years, first with nebulizers and now with us, and hearing them describe it back to us was a good reminder of something we try never to forget: the support system around the product is not separate from the product. It is the product. 

To Zac, Scott, and the whole Neb Medical team: thank you for your partnership, and for trusting us with your moms since before anyone knew our name. Learn more about their work at nebmedical.com. 

Zomee partners with DMEs, hospitals, and lactation professionals across the country. If you're a provider interested in carrying Zomee, reach out to our team to learn more.