Struggling with IVF Clinic Selection for LGBTQ Couple

[Anonymous]

My wife and I (LGBTQ) want to start the IVF process this year. I am 32 and she is 35. I want to carry and she will provide the egg for the embryo. We don't have any known fertility issues, though my surgeon did find stage 1 endometriosis (not in my fallopian tubes), which he removed when removing a uterine fibroid. I never had any endo symptoms.

I've looked at all the SART data, but it's hard to know how relevant it is to us since we've never tried to conceive. We're in Alexandria, and none of the clinics are even particularly convenient to us either. We have Cigna coverage that should cover all costs except donor gametes. Should we just go with Shady Grove since they're closest (though admittedly not by a lot) and seem to have a more functional billing system?

[Anonymous]

Cigna is going to cover this despite no diagnosis of infertility? Seriously?

They will cover all the prep to get the eggs, extract and fertilize. And then they will cover implanting in a different mother.

I’m just shocked. Go for it.

As for what clinic to use, pick the one that is closest to home or work for the partner who will be having the eggs extracted.

—old time lesbian & mother of college students who, despite having excellent insurance, had to pay out of pocket for IUIs and all infertility treatments when it didn’t work as quickly for kid number 2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cigna is going to cover this despite no diagnosis of infertility? Seriously?

They will cover all the prep to get the eggs, extract and fertilize. And then they will cover implanting in a different mother.

I’m just shocked. Go for it.

As for what clinic to use, pick the one that is closest to home or work for the partner who will be having the eggs extracted.

—old time lesbian & mother of college students who, despite having excellent insurance, had to pay out of pocket for IUIs and all infertility treatments when it didn’t work as quickly for kid number 2

Yes, it's required by New York law, and that's where my plan is based. There has been litigation over this in New York that resulted in a favorable settlement such that even surrogacy is covered for gay men, and my plan has a long non-discrimination policy spelled out in the policy.

My understanding is the only thing that isn't covered is the donor gametes. There might be some storage fees, but I'll have to re-read the policy.

I actually left my excellent job to take this one in substantial part to have this IVF coverage.

[Anonymous]

I am an old time infertility patient— and i just hated shady grove so i would tell you to go anywhere else. Tho things may have changed (my donor egg kids are 24, 21 and 21). If Preston Sacks is still in the business, i liked him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am an old time infertility patient— and i just hated shady grove so i would tell you to go anywhere else. Tho things may have changed (my donor egg kids are 24, 21 and 21). If Preston Sacks is still in the business, i liked him.

I’m the poster from above. Preston was the BEST. My kids are 24 and 20. We were probably in the waiting room at the same time.

Looks like he is still with Columbia. Abassi is also there. She’s very smart but can be rough around the edges.
https://www.columbiafertility.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an old time infertility patient— and i just hated shady grove so i would tell you to go anywhere else. Tho things may have changed (my donor egg kids are 24, 21 and 21). If Preston Sacks is still in the business, i liked him.

I’m the poster from above. Preston was the BEST. My kids are 24 and 20. We were probably in the waiting room at the same time.

Looks like he is still with Columbia. Abassi is also there. She’s very smart but can be rough around the edges.
https://www.columbiafertility.com/

Any idea why Columbia's SART data is so much worse than the rest? Do they take on more complicated cases?

[Anonymous]

Go to ccrm, no question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go to ccrm, no question.

That was my first choice, especially since their DC office is only a few blocks from my work. BUT I'm having trouble getting a straight answer on whether Cigna is fully or partially in-network.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an old time infertility patient— and i just hated shady grove so i would tell you to go anywhere else. Tho things may have changed (my donor egg kids are 24, 21 and 21). If Preston Sacks is still in the business, i liked him.

I’m the poster from above. Preston was the BEST. My kids are 24 and 20. We were probably in the waiting room at the same time.

Looks like he is still with Columbia. Abassi is also there. She’s very smart but can be rough around the edges.
https://www.columbiafertility.com/

Any idea why Columbia's SART data is so much worse than the rest? Do they take on more complicated cases?

Yup, you got it. They also take on reproductive immune and recurring loss patients. Most clinics would have quit on me to save their stats, but Dr Abbasi keeps letting me try despite the low odds. I have good insurance.

[Anonymous]

I hated shady grove and had success at
Columbia. I’m also in Alexandria, and CFA is pretty easy to get to from here. Good luck

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to ccrm, no question.

That was my first choice, especially since their DC office is only a few blocks from my work. BUT I'm having trouble getting a straight answer on whether Cigna is fully or partially in-network.

Ahh yeah, insurance and billing hurdles are so frustrating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an old time infertility patient— and i just hated shady grove so i would tell you to go anywhere else. Tho things may have changed (my donor egg kids are 24, 21 and 21). If Preston Sacks is still in the business, i liked him.

I’m the poster from above. Preston was the BEST. My kids are 24 and 20. We were probably in the waiting room at the same time.

Looks like he is still with Columbia. Abassi is also there. She’s very smart but can be rough around the edges.
https://www.columbiafertility.com/

Any idea why Columbia's SART data is so much worse than the rest? Do they take on more complicated cases?

Yup, you got it. They also take on reproductive immune and recurring loss patients. Most clinics would have quit on me to save their stats, but Dr Abbasi keeps letting me try despite the low odds. I have good insurance.

Great to hear. Thank you. I heard Shady Grove keeps their numbers high by pushing all the challenging cases out.

[Anonymous]

I switched from shady grove to GW 9 years ago. Shady Frove’s billing department was terrible back then— a total headache.

The process is time consuming, so if you don’t know of complex fertility problems, I would prioritize proximity, appointment times and an organized front desk/billing department. GW worked for me because all monitoring was by walk-in between 7am and 9:30am and I could park at Whole Foods across the street. I was in and out in 15 minutes. Took me 3 years to maintain a pregnancy, so I was there a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I switched from shady grove to GW 9 years ago. Shady Frove’s billing department was terrible back then— a total headache.

The process is time consuming, so if you don’t know of complex fertility problems, I would prioritize proximity, appointment times and an organized front desk/billing department. GW worked for me because all monitoring was by walk-in between 7am and 9:30am and I could park at Whole Foods across the street. I was in and out in 15 minutes. Took me 3 years to maintain a pregnancy, so I was there a lot.

I think GW was taken over by Shady Grove

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I switched from shady grove to GW 9 years ago. Shady Frove’s billing department was terrible back then— a total headache.

The process is time consuming, so if you don’t know of complex fertility problems, I would prioritize proximity, appointment times and an organized front desk/billing department. GW worked for me because all monitoring was by walk-in between 7am and 9:30am and I could park at Whole Foods across the street. I was in and out in 15 minutes. Took me 3 years to maintain a pregnancy, so I was there a lot.

I think GW was taken over by Shady Grove

Really? YUCK. I went to GW because of the Dr (who is now at Yale) from Shady Grove. This was 5 years ago. Shady Grove was pretty inept when it came to my case. I didn't fit in their narrow box, and they couldn't think outside of it. Definitely got better results. Three years ago GWU basically forced the clinic to close by not letting them hire more doctors or nurses. Dr. Frankfurter left for Yale in December 2022 and then by May 2023, the clinic closed. If it's back, it is NOT the same clinic at all.