When we began our IVF journey the list of things to stress about was very lengthy. At the top of the list was finances and trying to determine just how to pay for the treatments, none of which would be covered by insurance. If you live in a mandated state that requires insurance to cover infertility treatments then the process is certainly still difficult, but count your blessings that trying to find a way to pay for it all isn’t an added dilemma! For those of use who are looking at staggering amounts of money owed for each step along the way, the financial aspect of infertility can sometimes be the most overwhelming issue of all.
As a couple of D.I.N.Ks (Double Income No Kids)with good jobs and very little debt, my husband and I did have some disposable income that we began to put toward saving for IVF early on. Nevertheless, the cost of IVF was going to take every penny of our savings, plus some. We feared that it wouldn’t work and we would be left with no money to pursue other options like adoption or enjoying childless lives traveling the country. We feared that it would work and we wouldn’t have money to care for the child we so badly wanted to conceive. In the midst of the emotional and physical concerns that fertility treatments bring – worrying about money is almost too much to handle. When we began to realize the true cost (not the much lower cost that the clinic quoted before medications and monitoring) we realized that financing IVF was going to be extremely difficult.
How to actually finance the treatments is a very individual decision and dependent on your resources, credit, and savings timeline. There are a couple of things you can do though to try to save a little money where you can. Medications account for a large chunk of the expense. Do your research and compare the prices at a number of different pharmacies. Ask your clinic for referrals to a few. In my case, our decision of which medication to use (Bravelle) was based solely on what was “on sale” at one particular pharmacy – they were running a deal on Bravelle. The downside was that it would be administered differently than what they showed in our IVF class and would require an extra step, mixing. After talking with our assigned IVF nurse she assured us that the medication would do the exact same thing and in fact was often the one recommended for people with PCOS. Ultimately we determined that the savings from using the medications we needed to self-mix was worth it and our decision was made. Mixing the medication, as opposed to using the pre-mixed pen was not that difficult and definitely worth the savings. Our experience with the pharmacy was very good – they were helpful and accommodating when I questioned them about how much of something I would actually need and if there was a more affordable (as effective) alternative they readily recommended it.
We did end up with leftover medications that we didn’t know what to do with. Some clinics allow patients to donate left-over or unused medications so be sure ask about a medication share program at your clinic. Clinics also receive samples that they will often share with self-pay patients, but they don’t usually just offer these unless you express a need. Sometimes, issues also arise with the ultrasounds and monitoring appointments not being covered by insurance. Some people at my clinic would get their pre-requisite testing and/or monitoring and ultrasounds done at their regular ob/gyn office since the insurance coding often made all the difference. If it could be coded as diagnostic or routine rather than infertility treatment, the insurance companies would cover it. Dealing with insurance can be time consuming and frustrating, but finding out just what is and is not covered can really make a difference. Even if the procedure is done at the fertility clinic it can sometimes be covered – once we did get a positive hcg report our ultrasounds and blood work were covered under maternity care. Just asking can sometimes save you a ton of money. Now is not the time to be shy or “proud,” if you need help, ask for it!
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