Paying for IVF- How is everyone doing this?
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Anonymous
| Another way to think about this is that is similar to the cost of infant care for a year. We purchased medications on a vacation in another country. They were from the same manufacturer, but other countries have a max on the price of Rx medications. Insurance covered a good bit, but not all and I had a low lifetime max. We also got a no interest credit card that we were able to pay off before the baby was born. We got pregnant on the first cycle at 40. It was lucky, but there are good outcomes. Maybe not useful for OP, but possibly for other readers: I understand that there is currently a bill in DC Council to have a fertility insurance mandate. The proposed language matches Maryland’s. I assume it would take time to actually be passed and for everything to go into action, but it would allow federal employees to purchase insurance with fertility benefits. |
Anonymous
We paid for it with money. But in all seriousness, I got a second job. IVF is quite similar to building a house…if you’re not 100% comfortable with standing at the top of a mountain on a windy day while peeling $100 bills off a stack and letting them fly away in the breeze, then you’re probably gonna have a bad time. My wife had always struggled with PCOS, so we went thru all the fertility screening appointments a few years before intending to have children to know where we stood. Thankfully we qualified for shared risk. When Dr. Dimattina told us we qualified, I told my wife on the way out the door not to stress because we were gonna have a baby eventually as long as we didn’t quit since no one can stay in business handing out $25k refunds left and right. I ballparked the cost to be $50k all-in…ended up being $47k total with 2 retrievals, 4 transfers, all the drugs, with a healthy baby boy in the end. We could’ve stretched our budget, done some credit tricks, and/or borrowed, but my wife was stressed enough about the physical part and I didn’t want her to worry about the finances on top of it. The second job? I was and forever will be a night owl, so I drove uber/lyft from 9pm until the wee hours on Friday & Saturday nights while my wife slept lots to prepare her body. Scrimped where we could and banked the $50k in less than a year. Felt good writing out that $25k check in the finance office knowing we didn’t have to borrow it. The transition from driving uber on the weekends to fatherhood was a breeze as feeding a baby at 2am is a cakewalk compared to dealing with wild drunks at 4am. My best advice for anyone reading this…start early if you think you’re gonna struggle conceiving You can’t qualify for shared risk at an advanced maternal age. There’s no harm in getting a thorough reproductive/endocrine screening at 30-something if you think you’ll ever possibly want children. Too late will come eventually for every woman. |
Anonymous
And this is why I'm doing the tests and freezing my eggs soon. I feel you - single and mid-30s and literally bargaining my ability to be a homeowner by doing this, but I'm hoping that the early investment now will save me pain in the future if I find a partner. You sound like a wonderful partner and I'm glad it worked out for you and your wife! And for the person who is 42, I wish you success with whatever you decide to do! |
Anonymous
| Another second-job person. I just wanted to come by and send a lot of love to everyone going through this process. It is so hard. The financial aspect is just one way it can wreck you. No advice, just commiseration. |
Anonymous
| United Healthcare Choice Plus cover $45,000 for fertility treatments each partner. |
Anonymous
| Did natural cycle. Was about $5,000. |
Anonymous
| I got some meds filled out medicated IUI a few months ago but got pregnant naturally. Does anyone know if I can donate these anywhere? |
Anonymous
Non-federal insurance? |
Anonymous
| Yep! I’m a city employee and my husband is private sector. We both had access to this plan but we get through him bc it’s cheaper. I’d highly suggest Anyone considering fertility treatment see if this is an option. It also has great coverage for labor. |
Anonymous
Federal insurance only covers diagnostics for infertility, it covers NOTHING toward infertility treatments. |
Anonymous
Not totally true, a couple plans cover 50% of IUIs, including the carefirst plan. To be fair, IUI is a waste of time and money for many people suffering from infertility so it is not the most useful benefit anyway. |
Anonymous
| We paid for it with money my parents give me--we got lucky on our first cycle when I was almost 42. There was no more money or time for additional cycles. DD is now 19. Were I to do it again, I would have moved to MD from VA because MD mandated coverage of IVF. |
Anonymous
MD had mandated coverage 19 years ago? That’s sort of amazing. |