Considering that some couples may need up to three IVF cycles to get pregnant, plus the unfortunate fact that even high-tech IVF is no guarantee—it’s enough to make your head spin. How can you afford costs like these? But before you walk away from IVF, consider these seven tips for making the costs slightly more affordable.
Read Your Insurance Plan Carefully
You may be eligible for at least partial coverage of the cost for infertility treatments. Most insurance companies are not interested in making this information clear. Don’t assume insurance won’t cover you. Many fertility doctors and clinics take insurance. If they don’t, you can still apply for reimbursement yourself. Read your policy carefully—including the small print. Pay attention to any limits and coverage requirements. This information will help you to do your best at staying within your plan’s rules. If you still have questions after you’ve read your policy all the way through, call the company directly to ask. For example, if the company denies coverage for infertility treatments but you read in your policy that these treatments are covered, you can talk to someone and get clarification. In fact, many insurance companies have designated fertility nurses on staff to help customers navigate coverage questions and issues related to IVF. You may also want to consider contacting the human resources (HR) department at your job. While there are disadvantages and advantages of letting your employer know that you are trying to get pregnant, HR might be able to provide you with more information about your health benefits—including whether they cover IVF expenses.
Use Your Health Savings Dollars
Another option is tapping into a flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings plan (HSA) if you have one. FSAs are an employee benefit some companies offer that lets you set aside part of your pre-tax income for specially designated uses, such as medical expenses that are not covered by insurance. One of the big differences between an FSA and an HSA is that funds put into an FSA can’t be carried over from one year to the next. If you don’t use the funds, you lose them. With an HSA, funds do carry over. If you’ve been carrying funds over for years, you might have a good amount of cash saved that could be put toward IVF. There may be limits on what kinds of medical treatments can be paid for with an FSA or HSA, but fertility treatments are usually included. Talk to your employer to find out more.
Price Shop and Negotiate
You’ll want to consider more than success rates when you’re choosing a fertility clinic. Ideally, you want a clinic that can give you the treatment you need at a cost you can afford. Don’t be afraid to call other clinics and find out what they can offer you. It’s natural to feel loyal to the doctor you’ve been seeing for a while, but you also need to consider your family’s financial health. When comparing prices, ask clinics to clearly identify what is included and what is not. If you’re looking at two clinics and one seems to have a higher fee, but that fee includes the cost of ultrasounds and blood work (while the other clinic’s fee does not include these services), that’s like comparing apples to oranges. Another cost you’ll need to factor in is your travel expenses. You might like a clinic and they might give you a great price, but if the cost of traveling there and the lost income from taking time off work would negate the advantages, you might need to reconsider.
Medical Tourism for IVF
Another option for reduced cost IVF treatment is medical tourism. This requires you to travel to another country for fertility treatment. Traveling abroad for IVF might seem like it would be a more expensive option, but sometimes it’s cheaper than if you were to go to a clinic across town (even after you include plane tickets and hotels). Couples who enjoy traveling might take the opportunity for a vacation. That said, researching a fertility clinic abroad can be tricky. If you’re not careful, you could be scammed.
Saving Money on Fertility Drugs
Fertility drugs make up a huge percentage of overall IVF costs. You might be able to get discounts or better prices if you do a little research. One option is purchasing fertility drugs from a specialty pharmacy. One example is DesignRx Specialty Fertility Pharmacies, which will help you negotiate the best price if you’re a member (membership is free). Another way to save money on fertility drugs is to look into discount programs and mail-in-refund programs that are offered by some pharmaceutical companies. For example, EMD Serono (the maker of Gonal-F), offers a few programs to help people save on fertility drug costs. Some programs are for self-pay patients, while others can be used along with insurance. Ferring Reproductive Health—maker of Bravelle, Menopur, Endometrin, and Novarel—also has a discount program. The process can take time, so be sure to apply to a program before you need to purchase the medications.
Shared Risk or IVF Refund Programs
Choosing a shared-risk or refund IVF program may help you recoup your costs if treatments aren’t successful. With this method, you pay upfront for multiple IVF treatments (the average being three cycles though it can be more or less). The clinic or shared-risk program will promise to refund all (or part) of the money if you do not have a successful IVF cycle within the number of cycles you paid for upfront. These programs frequently cost more per cycle than you would pay without the refund guarantee but knowing that you’ll get the money back if the cycle doesn’t take can be comforting. Another benefit is that if the treatments fail, you’ll be able to use some of the funds to put toward future treatments, other fertility-related procedures, or an alternative like adoption.
Fertility Grants and Scholarships
You can also think about applying for a fertility grant or scholarship. While these options rarely cover all the costs of IVF, and the application fees can be expensive, it’s an option you might want to consider. Some grants or scholarships require you to be open and willing to share your IVF story. For example, they might ask that you allow your experience (and therefore aspects of your private life) to be documented with photography and/or video, or have a story be written about your journey. In a similar vein, some clinics will hold a raffle for a “free IVF cycle” if you come to an informational session. However, you should know that these “free” cycles come with strings attached, such as being willing to share your story publicly. Make sure you know what you’re accepting if you are lucky enough to win one.
Crowdfunding for IVF
You’ve probably received crowdfunding requests from friends or at least seen crowdfunding campaigns shared on social media. Crowdfunding is essentially getting funding from “the crowd." It requires asking your friends, family, and co-workers for support. If you’re successful with it, crowdfunding might help you raise some (or even all) of the money that you need for IVF. That said, crowdfunding isn’t for everyone. For one, it requires that you already have a wide social network. Good marketing skills help, too. Some people assume crowdfunding is easy—just create a GoFund me page and the money magically flows towards you. In reality, succeeding at crowdfunding for IVF requires hard work, a large circle of influence, and good storytelling skills.
Borrow the Cash
You might consider borrowing money to pay for IVF treatments. Borrowing options go beyond credit cards and might involve dipping into retirement funds, taking out a home equity loan or a medical loan, or even asking mom or dad for cash. Every option has its pros and cons, which you’ll want to weigh carefully. Finally, be sure that you have a pay-back plan for any cash you borrow—you don’t want to lose your car or house just after having a baby.
