afford IVF with P-ICSI

[Anonymous]

I've been getting diagnostic work done at Columbia Fertility. They've now recommended IVF with P-ICSI (sperm morphology problems...). But, our insurance doesn't cover IVF, and it seems like Columbia may be more expensive than other clinics. Though I like the doctors there, our pocket books are going to have to dictate where we end up going..This is all so very expensive. Thus, I was wondering if folks could give me advice on the best places to go in the DC area as far as price (assuming that they're also good medically, of course . I'm in the non-profit world and my partner is a grad student in education on a stipend, so we don't have high incomes! Many thanks for any insight and feedback!

[Anonymous]

You won't get a ton of eggs, but if you are looking at cost, check out Dominion's natural cycle IVF. It includes ICSI, but I'm not sure if P-ICSI is something different. It's $4400, and my meds were $100 since my insurance covers IUI, and they covered most of the meds. I put everything on a credit card.

[jindc]

Will your insurance cover the medicine but not the procedures?

If not, what about trying to find donated meds?

Or what about going to a facility with shared risk? It'll cost you more, but there's a semi guarantee (as I understand it).

What is the difference between P-ICSI and ICSI? We are doing ICSI at GW but I don't know the total cost - we have insurance coverage. However, their financial department is fantastic and if you called them (Brian is the financial guy) he will be very up front with you so at least you can get a sense of the cost there to compare.

[Anonymous]

I went to GW and ICSI was an extra $2000 approximately. I don't know what P-ICSI is, so I don't know if it is more expensive. For cost, I would look at Shady Grove's shared risk program if you qualify. It would be great if it worked the first time, but that is often not the case and with shared risk you get multiple tries. If I hadn't had good insurance coverage, I would have gone to Shady Grove. It took five tries and that would have been financially impossible for me to pay for out-of-pocket. I only got five tries with insurance because four of the cycles were cancelled so technically became IUI cycles. I still ran out of medication coverage and had to pay out-of-pocket for the last cycle.

[Anonymous]

I'm the original poster. Here's further info, given the replies so far. My insurance doesn't cover medication, nor does it cover IUI. P-ICSI is when they select the best sperm possible (the "p" stands for "preferred"). It adds a few hundred dollars to the cost of ICSI.
Thank you again for the advice!

[jindc]

I read up on PICSI - it's a specific process, there's a dish with a protein in it to attract the best sperm, then they use that for the ICSI.

Where are you having this done? I emailed GW and their lab doesn't have it.

That said, I'll be getting my invoice very soon and will post on the costs when I know just to give everyone an FYI

[Anonymous]

It is pretty awful to go thru and IVF cycle when no eggs fertilize. BTDT.

[Anonymous]

I also recommend trying SG's shared risk program