PP here - Thought I would add. We have three employees here that need IVF coverage and the answer from HR was still no to including it. Two of the employees dropped our coverage and luckily had husbands that had coverage, not me Which made the case here worse because now we have even less people

OP I had carefirst for years and while they did not cover IVF, they did cover all diagnostic testing including unlimited ultrasounds and IUIs. They also did cover all if my meds for IVF although my doctors office said they would not, so be sure your clinic submits these to insurance since they may cover them.

Also with Carefirst and a nonprofit. I was given the exact same information from BC and from HR and the Broker. The Broker added I know how you feel my daughter went through the same thing and you just need to borrow the money. (@#$#@$%)

The funny thing is that our smaller plan did have fertility (IUI) coverage but no IVF.

But I did get the company to get a new broker but still no coverage, the cost is too high and staff to low.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I doubt that whoever you talked to at BCBS was in a position to really know your employer's options. You're asking for coverage for an expensive elective medical procedure, not something life saving.

Unfortunately, I agree with this. I don't think employers should feel any obligation at all to provide anything beyond basic health insurance. Elective procedures are exactly that....elective. If they cover it, wonderful! If I were an employer, I would not.

Insurance covers all sorts of elective procedures - knee replacements, dermatology procedures, tubal ligations, etc. These are all choices. I think that insurance companies can choose to cover whatever they want in a marketplace model where they are competing for customers, but the argument that they shouldn't cover fertility procedures simply because they are not life threatening doesn't hold water.

I work in an organization that offers fantastic health coverage. We barely have to pay for anything...but fertility treatments beyond the initial diagnostic appointment aren't covered. I am guessing it is either not an option or terribly expensive.

Anonymous wrote:I doubt that whoever you talked to at BCBS was in a position to really know your employer's options. You're asking for coverage for an expensive elective medical procedure, not something life saving.

Unfortunately, I agree with this. I don't think employers should feel any obligation at all to provide anything beyond basic health insurance. Elective procedures are exactly that....elective. If they cover it, wonderful! If I were an employer, I would not.

I doubt that whoever you talked to at BCBS was in a position to really know your employer's options. You're asking for coverage for an expensive elective medical procedure, not something life saving.

My husband works for a $2billion profit/year company and they don't offer any fertility coverage with our insurance. It is not mandatory and entirely up to the company. What your insurance broker is probably saying is that there is no way for your company to provide fertility coverage within your existing rate structure and your company is not willing to go to a higher rate plan for everyone.

I'm in a similar boat and got the same answer from the broker who said that coverage wasn't even available for the plans used by smaller organizations because of how much it would increase the premiums for the remaining employees. In other words, you're probably out of luck. Sorry...I totally agree that it stinks! (And ignore PP about "getting a real job"...I've worked big law and small law and never had coverage or been stress free, .)

It does come down to money. For your company to get that kind of coverage, they would need to "buy" an insurance "package" with more bells and whistles, and that would mean more cost to them, and probably >>>higher premiums for all employees<<<.

We do live in Maryland, but there are loopholes to the mandated coverage so working there by no means guarantees coverage. My old company was too small to have to provide coverage and DH's company is self-insured so they didn't have to provide it either.

I think you'll find plenty of larger companies that also don't cover IVF. It does come down to money. For your company to get that kind of coverage, they would need to "buy" an insurance "package" with more bells and whistles, and that would mean more cost to them, and probably higher premiums for all employees.
OP, not sure how far along in the process you are. Have you looked into any shared risk options at the local infertility centers? I also needed ICSI, and due to our circumstances was able to qualify for a shared risk option.
Still a ton of $$$ but DH and I looked at it as setting aside X amount of $ for child. Since we qualified for shared risk, we knew that if we didn't get a live birth, we could get the refund and try for adoption.
Good luck, OP. I'm pulling for you.
P.S. Maryland by law does cover some IVF. Not sure if it would be worth considering a move, but just thought I'd throw it out there. I live in VA, so Marylanders chime in with more details on this.

Join the club OpP. It is a big club.

Good luck, no advice on getting boss to obtain ivf insurance coverage other than better things to spend energy on such as applying for ivf grants and saving your own money for the procedure. Since most insurance doesn't cover ivf And employers can do what they want as long as it iks legal, and not providing health ins covering ivf is legal, yu will have an uphill battle not sure its worth fighting. Contact resolve. Maybe they can help point you in the right direction.

I live and work in Washington, DC. Our insurance - which we have through my work - does not cover any fertility treatment. I have to get IVF with ICSI (very expensive!!!). I asked my boss to look into the possibility of providing me with some sort of coverage. He's relatively sympathetic, as he had a baby not too long ago after facing several years of fertility difficulties (though in the end conceived naturally). He spoke to our HR consultant, who spoke to our insurance broker, who apparently said we can't get coverage b/c our organization (a non-profit) is not big enough to get fertility coverage (we have about 25 people on staff)....I have trouble believing this. When I called CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (our insurance), they told me it's up to the employer, but now my employer is telling me that our insurance broker says it's not possible (b/c we're not a "very large firm"). While my boss is sympathetic to my situation, I'm not convinced that our HR consultant, who is the contact for the insurance broker, is herself sympathetic (not that she is antagonistic, but I think she doesn't really care). Anyhow, this is a long-winded way of asking if folks have experience (either direct or indirect) with having fertility treatment covered by their insurance while working at a "small" organization/company (either in VA or DC, I know that MD has some kind of mandate). Or, if folks have suggestions as to how I'd find out more info on CareFirst fertility coverage in smaller organizations....I'd be very grateful. Thank you.