Professionals perform medical-grade tattoos in a health care setting. These are fully sterile procedures. That means the staff follows strict protocols to stop germs from causing infection. For example, the tattooist wears medical gloves and uses a new needle and sterile ink for each procedure. Another difference is that people can get anesthesia performed by health care providers. That’s because medical tattoos happen in a health care setting. At UPMC, we provide local anesthesia for all 3D nipple tattoos. This means you don’t feel pain but remain conscious during the procedure. Your insurance should cover 3D nipple tattoos. Most will only cover medical-grade tattoos performed in health care settings. They will not cover nipple tattoos done at a tattoo parlor.