So overwhelmed.

RazzyRN

So I got my new patient packet in the mail today and it's so so overwhelming.

Especially the prices.
Now I knew seeing the RE can be pretty expensive.

Apparently my insurance covers everything up to a diagnosis. I already have a diagnosis of pcos thru my obgyn so idk if that counts or not?

Also- on the list of prices (I Will attach a photo) it says an u/s costs 518$ ... Now I know you get multiple ultrasounds when you get treatments such as clomid, femera.. Ect... Does that mean I have to lay 518$ every time I get a ultra sound.

Ugh. I have so much to learn!
Help

catlover790

I'm sorry you are feeling overwhelmed. I too was expecting it to be expensive but didn't realize just how much it really ends up adding up to.

Looking at the packet, it seems that those are the prices for the diagnosis appointment. If you already have a diagnosis could you get these levels from your OB to give your RE? It might save having to have some things done again.?

There are multiple ultrasounds/appointments when you start a treatment cycle, is there another page with those prices? I would think (I don't want to assume though) that the price would be more of a "package" for the monitoring needed.

I would also call insurance and ask if they get discounts on anything for you even if they don't cover it. I got an Explanation of benefits for my first appointment where even though they don't cover anything they "negotiated" with my RE to get me a lower price (about half) so that was a good thing.

The ultrasound price does seem high to me though. I'm sorry! I hope someone with more experience than me can help! Just know I know how you feel!!

brazenbiblio

I know what you mean about overwhelming prices. Does your RE have any packages? Mine has a discount package that covers BW and USs, the IUI, and the Beta which individually can really add up. Maybe you can ask.

GL

catlover790

I just saw your diagnosis is from 2008, they may want to run new tests since it has been awhile. I would definitely call the RE and ask them if they have someone in the insurance/billing department who could help you. I called with some insurance questions last week and they were very helpful and knew everything (I'm sure they get these questions a lot!)

Pintobean39

That does seem a little steep for an us. The visits that I had with us and blood work cost me about $250. Once I started treatments it was about $900 a cycle plus meds but that included all blood work and ultra sounds. Now we did spend about $2,000 initially on all the test, which included all the genetic testing, HSG, ultra sounds and blood work.

BunnyBerry

Wow, that's shocking. Ultrasounds are only about $220 at our RE. I would really want to check with them on if there is any leeway. Who can afford $500+ each time??

I would also be very proactive in talking to the billing office and make sure they do everything possible to get coverage for you before a diagnosis. So sorry. I hope more ends up getting covered. 

catlover790

I would also wonder if your RE (and their billing department) could argue that your original diagnosis shouldn't have been given without running the tests that they want to do. I know I'm not explaining this right; but that the following tests need to be given before a diagnosis can be made and therefore you should still have coverage for those tests.

RazzyRN

Thanks everyone ! I am hoping like some of you said that that is just the price for that set of test and that they all won't be that much. I have some phone calls to make for the time being!

catlover790

Good luck! One more thing I forgot... I see in your siggy you're kind of like me with the Provera ending cycles. I would see if you can start the next Provera and time your bloodwork with cd 3 (since that is the day that it should be done on).

When I had my consult they took my blood ( I wasn't on cd 3) and then I had to go in and have it done again on cd 3 anyway but the second time it wasn't covered by insurance since I had already had it taken before. The first time wasn't even necessary because I think it has to be done on cd 3 to be accurate. That might save you some money and time too!

Chasity08

$500 for an US is crazytown bananas. Perhaps that is a package of multiple US throughout a treatment cycle? I would definitely call and speak with the billing dept and see if they can break it down for you. I'm sorry it's so overwhelming

RazzyRN

catlover790 said:

Good luck! One more thing I forgot... I see in your siggy you're kind of like me with the Provera ending cycles. I would see if you can start the next Provera and time your bloodwork with cd 3 (since that is the day that it should be done on).

When I had my consult they took my blood ( I wasn't on cd 3) and then I had to go in and have it done again on cd 3 anyway but the second time it wasn't covered by insurance since I had already had it taken before. The first time wasn't even necessary because I think it has to be done on cd 3 to be accurate. That might save you some money and time too!

thanks for the advice! I never know when i am going to get AF after finishing provera.. sometimes it is 2 days sometimes its 5 so that would be hard to time. Maybe I should just refused the inital bloodwork and come back on CD3? do you think thats a good idea?

catlover790

RazzyRN said:

catlover790 said:

Good luck! One more thing I forgot... I see in your siggy you're kind of like me with the Provera ending cycles. I would see if you can start the next Provera and time your bloodwork with cd 3 (since that is the day that it should be done on).

When I had my consult they took my blood ( I wasn't on cd 3) and then I had to go in and have it done again on cd 3 anyway but the second time it wasn't covered by insurance since I had already had it taken before. The first time wasn't even necessary because I think it has to be done on cd 3 to be accurate. That might save you some money and time too!

thanks for the advice! I never know when i am going to get AF after finishing provera.. sometimes it is 2 days sometimes its 5 so that would be hard to time. Maybe I should just refused the inital bloodwork and come back on CD3? do you think thats a good idea?

I would ask the office when you call and see what they say. Once you are in as a patient the appointments are much easier/quicker to schedule. Once I got CD 1 (11days after stopping prometirum!!) I called that day and was in on CD3 for a baseline. They have to be able to fit people in at the last minute since so much can happen in a couple days.

I think it would make sense to do the bloodwork on CD 3 especially if you have to pay OOP for each time. I hate to add more questions to your list but it might help save you some money!

RazzyRN

thanks everyone. after tons of phone calls and online chats it seems as if all that cd3 bw is covered (atleast thats what my insurance says) and that a SA is covered as well. better than nothing so far!

any of you have round abouts for how much most stuff costs?

like..
clomid cycle
clomid + iui
injectables (i dont even know the first thing about these?)

basically anything up to an iui/ivf because those are pretty close to the same across the board.

i swear i need a class on what happens when you cant get pregnant on your own because i hate that i know nothing about anything!!


ps you ladies are awesome over here. so thankful that you know your shit or id really be lost.

catlover790

RazzyRN said:

thanks everyone. after tons of phone calls and online chats it seems as if all that cd3 bw is covered (atleast thats what my insurance says) and that a SA is covered as well. better than nothing so far!

any of you have round abouts for how much most stuff costs?

like..
clomid cycle
clomid + iui
injectables (i dont even know the first thing about these?)

basically anything up to an iui/ivf because those are pretty close to the same across the board.

i swear i need a class on what happens when you cant get pregnant on your own because i hate that i know nothing about anything!!


ps you ladies are awesome over here. so thankful that you know your shit or id really be lost.

I'm glad your CD 3 bloodwork and SA is covered at least. That's good!

As far as the costs, it is going to vary a lot based on where you are and the RE's prices. The ultrasound price you have listed there is already higher than I would've guessed so the prices people tell you may be different.

For me I am doing Femara and timed Intercourse this cycle. We are paying:

-500 monitoring and bloodwork

~100 HCG trigger

30 Femara (insurance covered some, it was listed as 75 without not sure why)

15-300 for progesterone support ( I still have to find out which one I'm doing on Mon. which is why the price is unclear)

Our RE charges an additional 300 for IUI and monitoring is 750 not 500. I'm not sure what they charge for IVF.

If you go to freedom fertility website (they are an online pharmacy) they have a lot of the different medicines listed that you may need. It's hard to really say because you may need a different combination of medicines and dosage as someone else.

Although it might seem difficult now, I'm sure once you have your consult the RE will go over all of this with you and probably will have you talk with someone in the billing department since you don't have much insurance coverage. I would try not to worry too much about the costs of the medications at the moment because you don't know which ones you may need yet. Good luck!

catlover790

Also, does your RE have a website of any kind where you could look at some of the prices if you want to know going in to your appointment? They may have some general prices listed. Or, you could call the RE and see if they could mail/email you a list of their prices? 

Just another idea! I know that for me I like going into the appointments knowing what to expect on the cost, even though there's really nothing I can do about it!

RazzyRN

thanks @catlover790 ! i am hoping that that u/s is just that much as part as the cd 3 bloodwork ! i will definitely check and see if they have anything on a website!

shirleymaeby

I agree with PPs...that u/s amount seems really high.

None of my treatment is covered by insurance so my costs for this last cycle were:

Clomid - $40

Ovidrel - $100

Ultrasound/Monitoring - $300

IUI + Semen wash - $500

Pintobean39

I can only tell you about injectable cycles because that's all I ever did with TI besides IVF.

My clinic charges about $900 for the monitoring appts for injectables then I had to pay for the medicine. My cycles ranged from $2,500 - $4,000 for TI. My medicine was expensive, I needed a lot. We never did an IUI because getting pregnant wasn't my problem and the extra cost wasn't beneficial for me.

As far as IVF. Mine cost about $25,000 for 1 cycle. I think I said 23k the other day on a post but I pulled out my paperwork. I got a lot of my medication donated so it looks like I may have paid about 18-19k OOP. The 25k included lots of meds, ICSI, and PGD (genetic testing of the embryos). Just regular IVF is only $10,000 at my clinic plus meds.

AnnaClaire256

The financial part of all of this is so unfair. Cause we need the added stress, right??

We are in the crappy 100% OOP pocket club. We pay $280 for the first ultrasound each cycle. The second (and sometimes third) only cost us the amount of the drs visit which is $55. Fortunately my bw is covered but that's it.

HCG Trigger: $80 if I give it to myself but they charge $40 if they give it to me.
Clomid: $32
IUI with sperm wash: $300

Since infertility is looked upon by my insurance as "elective" it doesn't even count towards our deductible. It's interesting to see how different the prices are for different people! GL with everything.

lebradford

I know my clinic offers package pricing for monitoring and blood work, but the per-item fee they bill to insurance is much more expensive. Is this the self-pay price?

My costs:
Clomid about $25
Ovidrel about $100
All blood-work and monitoring for a Clomid cycle: $1,300
All blood-work and monitoring for an injects cycle: $1,800
Follistim for an IUI cycle $600 for me, but that's a low-end price. It could be up to $2,000-$2,500 or more
Endometrin: about $5-6/tablet. Take 2 tablets/day for 7-12 days/cycle, longer if pregnant.
IUI: $350

My first cycle was Clomid, monitoring, Ovidrel, IUI, no progesterone
My second cycle was Clomid, monitoring, Ovidrel, IUI, 7 days of progesterone
My third cycle was Follistim, more expensive monitoring, Ovidrel, IUI, 12 days of progesterone.

There can be a lot of "hidden costs" sometimes, especially a trigger shot, progesterone, mandatory pregnancy tests (not included in monitoring costs, I'm not even sure what that costs). If you consider all of these things you should have a pretty solid idea how much it will cost, especially if you can get a package deal for monitoring.

RazzyRN

Thank you all so much this was all so helpful and gives me an idea on what to expect when it come to how much I have to look forward as far as spending goes.



Pisses me off that other people can reproduce for free!!!!