I don't know if this is too personal, but my husband and I want to move to IVF in the next few months because we think that's our last hope, but we are very, very concerned with the cost because our insurance covers NOTHING!!! Basically for a single cycle we've been quoted anywhere from 9-12k of course with no guarantee, and for the guarantee 20-22k. That is a lot of money that we don't have right now. Any suggestions or ideas that u guys have would be great. Thanks, and I hope all is well!!

Kia

Kia - I wonder the same thing. I'm new here, so I don't think we have met. Here's our story in a nutshell: DH has low counts, I have no IF issues, but other health issues - uveitis (inflammation of the eye), and also recently diagnosed with early stages of MS. I was on meds for the eye condition up until this past Oct, and I never started my MS meds. We have been ttc for 2.5 yrs, and nothing. Now we are kind of in a hurry (aren't we all?:)) to get pg since my other symptoms are in remission.

So, I'm doing Clomid now, my second IUI will be next week. But I really think that it is going to take IVF to get pg. And I really don't know how we'll afford it. With insurance, it'll be about $5,700 for the first one (at 50% covered by insurance), but lifetime max on IF treatments is $10k, so really only my IUI's and one IVF will be covered.

I don't know how we are going to do it. I'm interested in what other people have to say on the subject.

Nice to meet you, Kia! good luck to you......

silver:angel:

I have health insurance but we need to be covered for a year before we can claim for IVF which will be in April, me being impatient I don't want to wait that long so we start in 5 weeks. So the cycle all up will be $6000, but here in Australia we have something called Medicare which is where the government pays for some medical costs so I will probably only be out of pocket about $2500.

Cashahn xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi Kia,

That is a great question, thanks for posting. I think you'll find here that everyone is very open and great at giving suggestions and personal stories. DH and I are headed to IVF if this final cycle of IUIs does not work, and we've been wondering the exact same thing. We will have to wait though till the end of the year in order to save up some money to even think about doing IVF. I find it interesting that places are charging such a range for the treatments, too! The sheet that my RE's office gave me states that it is 22,000 for 1 IVF cycle with monitoring, and 33,000 for the 'shared risk' IVF. We definately don't have anywhere near that for treatment.

Wish I could be more help, but thanks for posting your question. I'd be interested to hear suggestions too!

Kelley

Hi Kia,

The only thing my insurer covers is monitoring. Without coverage for monitoring, it would run us just over $12k, but with the coverage it will still be about $10k. We have been putting money away over the past year as we assumed we may get to this point (we've exhausted our tries at Clomid/injectables - IUI). We also planned ahead when we did our insurance coverage for this year and put $5k towards our healthcare spending account. Of course we still pay for this, but it's at least tax free. Even though we don't have coverage and it angers me to no end, I do have to say we are extremely blessed to be able to afford IVF without taking out any loans. But, if we have to do it on more than one occasion, that could change. I wish you tons of luck!

Kelley, not that you asked, but I just wanted to say that $22k seems extremely high. The $12 I've quoted above includes meds, monitoring, ER and ET for one fresh cycle. Could the $22k include a FET or two???

- April

Hi Ladies,

Recently, I posted a thread about fertility insurance because of the financial issues while on fertility treatments. We all know that here is the US, fertility treatment is not usually covered by any insurance company most esp. the IVF treatments. Unlike in other country, Medicare is only for retired older citizens. I still have 2 IUI's to do then will be moving to IVF.
Yes, everything will be out of pocket so we might take some loans to pay for IVF if we have to do it. Im just praying that we will not have to go there and that I will be pregnant with the injections and IUI. In my RE's office, the procedure alone is about $10k and not including doctor's fee and medications so I think it will be $12k-$15k per treatment.----Sarah

I actually went downstairs and pulled out my RE folder, to look up the numbers, because they seemed so high after reading everyone else's posts. It actually says that one cycle of IVF is 17,430 and IVF with ICSI is 22,000 (so I was a little wrong, but these numbers are still high, no?). These numbers are for women under the age of 35. Over 35, the numbers go to 21,000 and 28,000. Do other offices charge more depending on age???

Again, this is a great thread -- I really am interested in hearing people's ideas, and I also think that when we move forward to IVF finally, that I'm going to look around for other offices as well. Who knows, maybe because we're outside of NYC, things are more expensive like everything in the city... or, this office is just way overcharging!

Thanks!

We have not begun our IVF yet, but we were told $10,000 not including meds. My husbands work updated insurance plans this year, which is much better. We had Aetna last year which paid for all our diagnostic and my laproscopic procedures but wouldn't contribute anything towards IVF. Now we have United Healthcare and the plan we have covers up to 50% of the IVF. We are paying alot for the coverage, but it's worth it! The rest of the money we are paying out of pocket, saving from my husbands comission checks.

OMG I can't believe how expensive IVF is in USA, how on earth do they expect people to be able to afford it? Talk about making IF journey even harder than what it already is. I really feel for you all and hope that you all find a way to cover the costs. There's no way I could afford IVF with ICSI if I lived there. wishing you all the best.

Cashahn xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My first IVF with ICSI cycle cost ~$12,000. This price included about half the meds I needed. The rest were supplied by my RE office as "samples". I put the cost on my credit card, which took me less than 2 weeks to max out. Scary.
My second IVF cycle cost ~$14,000 since I had to pay for most meds myself. For this we used our home equity line of credit which has a really good interest rate.
This entire experience sucks beyond words.
I get upset and stressed just thinking about it and I'm pretty bitter that my insurance covers ZERO towards IVF.

By the way, Kelley, that price sounds waaaay expensive to me, but maybe it's just different in different states. I am under 35, did IVF with ICSI and assisted hatching and my prices were like half that.

Kia,
I too am paying for IVF out of pocket. :( We are blessed to have the income we do but, by no means have funds for this. We have been saving and saving as my DH will not take out a loan. After many months of not agreeing with his feelings on how to handle the financial factors..... I am glad he stuck to it. He knew it would be harder on me to make the loan payments if the IVF doesn't work for us. It is so awful to have to deal with infertility...... adding the financial burden is just an extra slap in the face.

I am glad you posted this as I would love to know of anything to help.

After reading everyone's reply, I wanted to tell everyone that may be interested about the IVF clinic that I am using. I don't know how much info I am allowed to say on here so I will not tell the site or anything. My doctor is GREAT, I checked everything I could to make sure he was great. The total that we will pay is right around $6,800. That includes almost everything. I wish I had my paperwork here to tell exact details. Our insurance covers nothing and that will be what we pay.
If anyone wants to know anything more about him......I would love to give any info I have. I just don't wanna post info that is not allowed.....
I hope this helps!!!!!
Best of luck to all of us!!!!!

Hi all,
I was just talking to my cousin who happens to be going to medical school in Sweden, his fiance lives in Lebanon. He told me the cost of IVF in Lebanon is around $2,500!-ballpark. He is studying to be an ob/gyn and told me of a woman who could not afford it in the states and went there to do it and it was a success! He also told me anywhere in Europe is at LEAST half of what it is in the states. Hmmm, something to think about. I have family in Sweden, so..... maybe when the time is right, I'll go there for fertility treatments. There's no way I can afford it here right now. DH and I are on 1 income since I could not work due to my cancer treatments.

Oh, BTW, is anyone else really MAD about this? I see pregnant women all the time and think, why does SHE get to have a baby for free, and now I will have to pay thousands of $$$ for it? NOT FAIR!:mad: I don't like walking around with any anger in my heart, but I just can't help to think that what is supposed to be free and a beautiful natural occurance is now a lot of $$ and hard work for DH and I? Sorry just had to vent, didn't mean to bring anyone down.
Thanks for listening

Hi everyone,

Like many others here, I am paying completely out-of-pocket for my upcoming IVF. I switched RE's this year, so let me tell you what each offers. At my current RE, if the woman's FSH levels are under 10, you qualify for a reduced IVF pricing. If under 35, 1 cycle is $6,900, 2 cycles is $9,900, and 3 cycles is $12,000. If you pay for multiple cycles and get pregnant the 1st time, your additional fees are NOT refunded, but if you only pay for 1 cycle and do not get pregnant, than you are paying full price again, you don't just get to pay $3000 more and try again. So it's all a gamble:dizzy: These fees are just for IVF, but does include 1 year of embryo freezing. ICSI, meds, pre-cycle testing, and other monitoring is extra.

My previous RE had a different plan through IntegraMed. If you qualified for their program you would be able to go through 3 fresh cycles and 3 frozen cycles. I was quoted for IVF w/ICSI, so for under 35 our price was going to be $21,500. This did not include meds, pre-cycle testing, storage, or other monitoring; just retrieval, incubation, and transfer. If you got pregnant, congrats. If you did not, you would get (I believe) 30% back. I can't remember if that percentage is completely correct, but something like that. So another gamble.

My new RE, however, gives a 10% discount for out-of-pocket clients who have Kaiser, which my husband just signed up for last year thankfully, on anything not already discounted. Still need to ask if the IVF packages will get discounted or not. I keep debating between signing up for the 2 or 3 package deal, hopefully I will qualify with good low levels. And the way I am paying is I took out the max amount for a student loan and will be using those funds for everything, and then hopefully consolidating all my student loans for a lower interest rate. The current rate is 6.80%, so not horrible. Better rate than what they offer for specific IVF/medical loans. I agree with mrsctw1, that paying these loan payments if IVF is unsuccessful will be difficult, but I felt it was a good choice for us.

Christin

P.S. Kelley, I also think your prices sound very high. A while ago, my friend e-mailed me a website for an RE in New York who's prices were really, really inexspensive for IVF comparatively. She was trying to talk me into flying there to get my treatments done with him. I don't have that info anymore, but maybe if you do random searches on the internet, you will find him. If I can get that info again, I will post it here for you.

Christin

The expenses of IVF are crazy, and I too am bitter that we have to pay so much money for just a CHANCE at what so many others take for granted. But, that's the situation we are in. Here's how we are paying for it:

My insurance covers infertility, but no IVF whatsoever. My RE participates in the shared egg donor program, and I became a donor. In exchange for donating half of my eggs retrieved during IVF, the recipient couple covers about $9,000 of my costs. Our first cycle cost us around $5,000 out of pocket, including meds (my RE donated some to me). We took out a Capital One Health Care loan (at a really good rate of 3.9%) to cover the out of pocket expenses. Paying on that loan every month w/ no baby in my arms really sucks!!! But, it was the only way we could do it, and we would do it again if we had to.

For our second cycle, I am donating half of my eggs again, and we are looking at $4,000 out of pocket. My RE donated even more meds to me this time around. For this cycle, we've been saving up the money, and we won't be taking out another loan. They cycle has been postponed several times due to scheduling conflicts w/ the other couple, so we have had time to save up. Really hoping we will be blessed w/ a baby this time around.

I know it's not really a conventional option, but it made IVF possible for us when it wouldn't have been possible otherwise. It could be an option for somebody else out there too.

Holly

My ins compnay pays for some stuff, but not all, but they do negotiate a discount price for me. I will get exact cost tomorrow and what my share will be, but I think with meds the clinc charges $15,500, my share may be around $5k, not including my deductable. BUT, I only have a $15k lifetime max with the ins company. I'll take it and not complain since I feel fortunate to at least have that.

If I would not have sat on it too long I would have bought outside ins with United Healthcare. They have a policy that is 100% paid everything with a $2k deductable and that includes 100% IF, except Zift/Gift (I think thats what it is called?). Anyway, it was $630 a month for both DH and I. The key is we currently pay $200/mo for 80% ins w/$3500 dedcuable, not to mention IF is not at the 80% plan, there is some clause there somewhere and then theres the lifetime max. So, just for the cost of IF, premium and deductable we'll be shelling out around 8,500 right off the bat and that does not include any other Dr's visits, reg medication or anything of the sort. If I were to get the UHC plan it would cost me $7500 a year for the premium (that is tax deductable since its an individual plan) and that is all I would have to pay all year and I would have no lifetime max with IF. I sat on it too long and didnt follow through, I could kick myself for it today!!! I still will be able to claim everything this next year on taxes except for the premium because its 2nd party.

Sorry I wrote a book:(

twinkiezinger- I live very close to NY city. It would be great if you find the info on that Dr. with reasonable pricing. I will be on the lookout for it here.THANKS

Sharon,
I say that all the time too, "Why does she get to have a baby for free". If it is someone who actually wants one I don't mind as much but I see these 15 year olds walking up and down the street pregnant as can be. They are upset because they ARE pregnant, we are upset because we are NOT! A friend of our's 16 year old daughter is pregnant. First she kept saying how she didn't know her daughter would get the pre-natal care because they didn't have insurance so she want to welfare, got all her freebies, and now tells us how they don't have to pay a penny for anything. I can't even talk to her anymore. She knows the emotional and financial stress I am going through. I don't want to hear about your freebies you got because your daughter was irresponsible. And surprise, Daddy is nowhere to be found! At least we can tell our children how much they were wanted and what we went through to get them while she can tell her child its here because mommy and daddy didn't know where the condom aisle was!
Jennifer

Sharona,

I started a thread with that info titled: Kelley - New York IVF Info. Didn't want to hi-jack this thread, fyi.

Christin

<phillypainter>
I could not agree with you more! I see them all the time in the mall, those VERY young pregnant girls and I just think to myself, hey, I got to live my life, have fun, and enjoy my youth. I was not tied down to raising a baby or children at such a young age. I got to go out, go on vacations with my friends, whatever I wanted to do so......HA! They want to be irresponsible?, they will soon find out that being a mom is no joke, AND a very hard thing to do, especially at such a young age. It should be planned for and you have to be at a time in your life when you are completely ready to bring a child into the world. I guess they will learn that the hard way. It's like I'm being punished for waiting for the right man, and the right time in my life to have a baby. I refuse to let that bring me down though- I have a wonderful DH, great friends, and a family that loves one another and are always there for each other. That is what is important to me. No matter what, I believe everything will work out for us. Good to know somebody else out there understands

I don't have to do IVF (that I know yet) but I thought I'd do some research I called up my obgyn who is friends with an RE in Ontario. And his RE friend des IVF for $7000-$12000 including medicines. What is harsh is that my insurance covers NO IF treatments, even Clomid will have to be out of pocket. Still though, judging from the numbers I'm seein gstateside, it's pretty good. Who woudl have ever thought $12000 as reasonable.... :angel:

All I can say is WOW I know its so expensive in the states for IVF.For us it wasent even in question that we could do IVF but here in Greece its so affordable.My RE asks for 2,700 euro which is about $3,500 and that includes everything but the meds.Well my insurance covers 75% of my meds so if we have to move to IVF at least now we can and it will only costs us about $4,200 with the meds.Insurance doesnt cover it but with prices so cheap who cares.At least they cover a big chunk of the meds which os great.My meds for my last IUI were about 1000 euro and we paid 250 euro so it is a relief.Well we all know that the US has the worse medical plan then any other country which is crazy.They think IVF is a luxery and doesnt need to be covered but its not like that in other countries.Luxery my foot they should try going through it.Really upsets me so I am not going to even start with all that.Well I hope everything works out for all of us and we dont need to go to IVF.Take care ladies and good luck.

Mapia

Sharona - I love your positive attitude. It's so refreshing! It's hard to have all these negative feelings (you know we all have them, girls), but we all just need to try and remember the things we do have, and be grateful for those things. It's hard, I know. My sister has had two "oops" pregnancies, and it kills me that she is so "lucky" fertility-wise. But she's struggling financially, really bad. And she was robbed of her youth, wasn't able to travel, baby-daddies are gone, etc. And I was was able to do all those things that she could not. So, I guess it all depends the viewpoint you see things from, who the lucky ones are. I'm going to try harder to be positive. And when we all have our babies, it will be worth every penny! Well, lots and lots of pennies.

I can't remember who said it earlier in the thread, but I also took out $5,000 in my flexible healthcare spending account this year. Ouch though, $208 deduction per paycheck. Geez.....but it's tax free, so that's good.

silver:angel:

Silver,
I feel like that too. As bad as I want one, I would not want to trade places with anyone who is stuck with "oops" pregnancies and doesn't have a stable partner in their life to help. Sure, we will probably stuggle financially once and awhile but I think we still will have it much better than those with the unplanned, no daddy around pregnancies. You really would think they had learned their lesson after baby #1 but apparently not. My neighbor's 22 year old is on her 3rd and whatever guy she is with at the moment is "daddy". that is no life for a child.
Jennifer

Hi Ladies,
DH and I are not sure if we'll be doing IVF, but I wanted to let you know that it's worth asking your RE if they're partaking in any clinical studies.

We were offered free IVF studying Gonal F vs. long acting Gonal F. There are other studies out there b/c my RE told me some others- i.e. meds studying in particular for people with PCOS. These studies usually pays for all blood work, labs, tests (ultra sounds) retrieval, transfers and everything in between. The one we're thinking about only pays for the fresh cycle and doesn't include freezing, then FET etc.

HTH. :)