IVF $ question

dolphinsmakemesmile

I am just doing my research, not up to IVF yet. I just checked with insurance and all iuis and meeds are covered (no limit). I've just been paying co-pays so far. For IVF, I have a $10k lifetime max. But my meds are covered. I know how fast $10k goes. How much was your IVF (without meds)? I know this varies but just trying to get a ballpark idea. Also, how does this work with refund programs? If my first IVF didn't work, could I then join one of those refund programs (I think my clinic does Attain)? I don't know if they would accept me though after a failed IVF? I know I am way ahead of myself here, but just want as much info as possible. I need to figure out a way to gently brooch the IVF cost issue with DH so he doesn't have a complete meltdown.

steveandkim2

I found clinics in my area (outside of Philadelphia) charge between 9 - 13K OOP for IVF procedures.  Its hard to say what they charge insurance companies though -- it may be less.   My insurance only covered 1 IVF and 1 FET and then my benefit was consumed (~15K).

I was able to qualify for ARC "multi-cycle" discount packages with my new clinic even with 2 failures under my belt.  The only shared risk refund they offered involved 3 fresh and 3 FETs for $60K, and I know DH and I aren't going to pursue that many cycles so I didn't even apply for that one.

CallMeAl

Our single cycle fresh IVF w/ ICSI will cost $10,150. That doesn't include any meds, the cryopreservation of DH's back-up ICSI sample, or all the co-pays we've paid while going through IVF tests/consultations.

The shared risk, aka "success or refund" program at our clinic starts at $25K. We just don't have that kind of cash, so we are doing a single cycle. 

Hope that helps!

 

Edwina.McDunnough

OOP around 10k not including anesthesia, AH, ICSI, or cryo. BUT my insurance covers some of the bloodwork and monitoring, so my actual OOP is a bit less.

I pretty much think that what insurance companies pay is lower than what the public price is. On my old plan we paid the "plan rate," just OOP.  It's infuriating that clinics will charge the public MORE than what the negotiated insurance rate fee is.

madelyn07

The base price of IVF at my clinic is about $8,000...that doesn't include freezing the sperm or embryos, ICSI, AH, pre-screening, monitoring or meds. With the ICSI, freezing of sperm and embryos, monitoring, pre-screening, all that, it will be somewhere in the $12,000 range.

 

njohnson1972

Mine was $11,000 for everything except meds.

My clinic waives the doctor's fees on subsequent IVF cycles, so they only cost $5,500 plus meds.  

Good luck!

cbubbles2

We were at about $10,000.00 total. I took a very low dosage of meds so I saved about 2,500.00 on the meds and another $3,000.00 because I had less eggs than the average cycle to fertilize, etc. If I had taken a higher dose of meds our cycle would have been about 16,000.00. Freezing and storing our frosties is $800 a year but I haven't seen a bill for that yet!

dolphinsmakemesmile

Thanks ladies. Holy moly. I had no idea that was the going rate for shared risk cycles. yikes, I don't think we'll be able to pursue that. And yes, I agree. It's total bs that clinics charge the insurance less than patients. Somehow that should be illegal!!

prncschrsty

Here is the breakdown for OOP at our clinic:

IVF (Egg Retieval, Egg Transfer,  Anesthesia, Fertilization) - $6110

ICSI (Inject sperm into the egg) - $750

Assisted Hatching - $500

Freeze & Storage of Extra Embryos - $675

They told us Meds run between $3-$4K

 

madelyn07

prncschrsty:

Here is the breakdown for OOP at our clinic:

IVF (Egg Retieval, Egg Transfer,  Anesthesia, Fertilization) - $6110

ICSI (Inject sperm into the egg) - $750

Assisted Hatching - $500

Freeze & Storage of Extra Embryos - $675

They told us Meds run between $3-$4K

 

Wow, in my opinion, that is a very conservative estimate...my OOP price for my meds was just over $7,000 and I'll only be on Gonal-F, Menopur, Ganirelix and PIO. 

prncschrsty

madelyn07:

prncschrsty:

They told us Meds run between $3-$4K

Wow, in my opinion, that is a very conservative estimate...my OOP price for my meds was just over $7,000 and I'll only be on Gonal-F, Menopur, Ganirelix and PIO. 

Wow, really! That is almost double what they quoted us.

love2b_mrst

Our clinic charges around $9000 for OOP IVF but my financial coordinator told me the contracted rate for my insurance would be around $3800. So your lifetime max on insurance will get you more cycles than you think. But the opposite is true for meds. We have a lifetime max med coverage, and I was told our price will be much higher because the pharmacies offer a cash discount price. Madelyn, I can't believe your meds were so much! All estimates I've ever been given were in the $3000-4000 range unless you were a slow responder. What pharmacy does your clinic use?

madelyn07

love2b_mrst:

Madelyn, I can't believe your meds were so much! All estimates I've ever been given were in the $3000-4000 range unless you were a slow responder. What pharmacy does your clinic use?

Really? I feel like I see a lot more women on this board with meds in that range than I do in the $2-3k range.. 

I'm not a slow responder...I've always been on 150iu of Follistim for IUIs and gotten 2-3 follies in 6 nights of stims. 

My clinic uses whichever pharmacy you want them to but they do most of their work with Southern, a pharmacy based out of Birmingham, and that's who I've always ued. They are a little more expensive for triggers than like Freedom but their other meds are pretty much right inline with everyone else.

njohnson1972

madelyn07:

love2b_mrst:

Madelyn, I can't believe your meds were so much! All estimates I've ever been given were in the $3000-4000 range unless you were a slow responder. What pharmacy does your clinic use?

Really? I feel like I see a lot more women on this board with meds in that range than I do in the $2-3k range.. 

I'm not a slow responder...I've always been on 150iu of Follistim for IUIs and gotten 2-3 follies in 6 nights of stims. 

My clinic uses whichever pharmacy you want them to but they do most of their work with Southern, a pharmacy based out of Birmingham, and that's who I've always ued. They are a little more expensive for triggers than like Freedom but their other meds are pretty much right inline with everyone else.

Madelyn, my meds were $6,000-$7,000 per cycle, but I was a poor responder and took very, very high doses.  I also tend to stim for 10-13 days.

Eriksgal

A single cycle is around $8800 which includes all labs, monitoring, ICSI, Retrieval, ET, ultrasounds, etc. Does not include anesthesia fee which will be about $580. They said meds will be around $5000 and they use a pharmacy in the UK. I am hoping my insurance will cover some of the meds-still waiting to get my list of what I will be on. A two cycle plan which is what we have decided to do is $14450 and they are throwing in the ICSI for us. It also includes up to 2 FETs I think. If you get pg the first cycle you do not get any money back I think.

SeptemberBride'08

This is my center:

 $6,000*
? Up to 2 IVF cycles.
? $3,000 deposit at date of baseline.
? 12 months interest free financing.
? $250 monthly payment deducted from credit/debit card.
? If client becomes pregnant and delivers a child prior to 2nd cycle, contract is completed.

$9,000*
? Up to 4 IVF cycles.
? $4,500 deposit at date of baseline.
? 12 months interest free financing.
? $375 monthly payment deducted from credit/debit card.
? If client becomes pregnant and delivers a child prior to 4th cycle, contract is completed.

$13,500*
? Up to 6 IVF cycles.
? $6,750 deposit at date of baseline.
? 12 months interest free financing.
? $562.50 monthly payment deducted from credit/debit card.
? If client becomes pregnant and delivers a child prior to 6th cycle, contract is completed.

*This program includes Anesthesia, ICSI, Assisted Hatching, Retrieval, Embryo Transfer, storage of frozen embryos and FET cycles for one year Patient is responsible for all labs, ultrasounds and medications. We will bill insurance for monitoring and accept what insurance pays minus the co-pays, co-insurances and deductibles. If patient has frozen embryos, they must be used prior to proceeding with the next fresh IVF cycle.

_____________

The donor program goes up to $44,000!!! I really really really hope I don't have to go that route. 

The thing I don't like about these packages is that say we go for the largest one and get KU on the first...(yay) but still need to do IVF for other children we are shiit out of luck. It's so hard to figure out which path to take. Grrrrrrrrr.

madelyn07

njohnson1972:

madelyn07:

love2b_mrst:

Madelyn, I can't believe your meds were so much! All estimates I've ever been given were in the $3000-4000 range unless you were a slow responder. What pharmacy does your clinic use?

Really? I feel like I see a lot more women on this board with meds in that range than I do in the $2-3k range.. 

I'm not a slow responder...I've always been on 150iu of Follistim for IUIs and gotten 2-3 follies in 6 nights of stims. 

My clinic uses whichever pharmacy you want them to but they do most of their work with Southern, a pharmacy based out of Birmingham, and that's who I've always ued. They are a little more expensive for triggers than like Freedom but their other meds are pretty much right inline with everyone else.

Madelyn, my meds were $6,000-$7,000 per cycle, but I was a poor responder and took very, very high doses.  I also tend to stim for 10-13 days.

Here's my breakdown: 

7 boxes of 450iu Gonal-F Multidose (will be on 375iu/day)=$4,939

5 boxes of Ganirelix=$621

20 vials of Menopur 75iu (will be on 75iu/day)=$1057

2 boxes of Novarel trigger (10,000 each)=$245

6 boxes of 50mg PIO= $221

Add in the cost of syringes and needles and you are at about $7,100...

lovemygs

$7000 for meds?!  Wow!  We were quoted $2000-$4000 for meds.

Each fresh cycle at our clinic, including ICSI, costs about $11,0000.  They also offer a multi-package (3 fresh, 3 frozen) option for $20,0000 and a shared risk package (3 fresh, 3 frozen) for $25,000 ----- you get $14,000 of that back if no baby is delivered.

We're OOP for everything, so all these numbers give me chest pains

njohnson1972

madelyn07:

njohnson1972:

madelyn07:

love2b_mrst:

Madelyn, I can't believe your meds were so much! All estimates I've ever been given were in the $3000-4000 range unless you were a slow responder. What pharmacy does your clinic use?

Really? I feel like I see a lot more women on this board with meds in that range than I do in the $2-3k range.. 

I'm not a slow responder...I've always been on 150iu of Follistim for IUIs and gotten 2-3 follies in 6 nights of stims. 

My clinic uses whichever pharmacy you want them to but they do most of their work with Southern, a pharmacy based out of Birmingham, and that's who I've always ued. They are a little more expensive for triggers than like Freedom but their other meds are pretty much right inline with everyone else.

Madelyn, my meds were $6,000-$7,000 per cycle, but I was a poor responder and took very, very high doses.  I also tend to stim for 10-13 days.

Here's my breakdown: 

7 boxes of 450iu Gonal-F Multidose (will be on 375iu/day)=$4,939

5 boxes of Ganirelix=$621

20 vials of Menopur 75iu (will be on 75iu/day)=$1057

2 boxes of Novarel trigger (10,000 each)=$245

6 boxes of 50mg PIO= $221

Add in the cost of syringes and needles and you are at about $7,100...

Your Gonal-F seems high.  I took Follistim and the equivalent dosage (3,150 IU) would cost me $3,654 through Ascend Pharmacy.

BTW - I am so excited for you!!

madelyn07

njohnson1972:

madelyn07:

njohnson1972:

madelyn07:

love2b_mrst:

Madelyn, I can't believe your meds were so much! All estimates I've ever been given were in the $3000-4000 range unless you were a slow responder. What pharmacy does your clinic use?

Really? I feel like I see a lot more women on this board with meds in that range than I do in the $2-3k range.. 

I'm not a slow responder...I've always been on 150iu of Follistim for IUIs and gotten 2-3 follies in 6 nights of stims. 

My clinic uses whichever pharmacy you want them to but they do most of their work with Southern, a pharmacy based out of Birmingham, and that's who I've always ued. They are a little more expensive for triggers than like Freedom but their other meds are pretty much right inline with everyone else.

Madelyn, my meds were $6,000-$7,000 per cycle, but I was a poor responder and took very, very high doses.  I also tend to stim for 10-13 days.

Here's my breakdown: 

7 boxes of 450iu Gonal-F Multidose (will be on 375iu/day)=$4,939

5 boxes of Ganirelix=$621

20 vials of Menopur 75iu (will be on 75iu/day)=$1057

2 boxes of Novarel trigger (10,000 each)=$245

6 boxes of 50mg PIO= $221

Add in the cost of syringes and needles and you are at about $7,100...

Your Gonal-F seems high.  I took Follistim and the equivalent dosage (3,150 IU) would cost me $3,654 through Ascend Pharmacy.

BTW - I am so excited for you!!

I thought that the multi-dose Gonal-F was more expensive than the Follistim since it can be mixed with other meds...it doesn't matter to me, though, I pay the same co-pay for Gonal-F as I did for Follistim and my co-pay doesn't change regardless of how much of the meds I get. 

bbakersgirl75

We also have a lifetime limit on Infertility coverage. Our first cycle without meds deducted around $4k from our coverage max.

September2007

I hope it's okay if I respond...  We only did one round of IVF in November, and I just got the bills.  IVF with ICSI only (not including meds) was $7775.00.  This is what was charged to my health insurance company and what was paid.  We had a $90 total copay for all IVF visits.

Our meds (Lupron, Gonal-F, Novarel, and Crinone) was $4625.00.  We had a $120 copay for the meds ($30 each).  (Similar to you, this did not affect our lifetime max.)

If your insurance covers $10k lifetime max, you should be able to get one IVF round in.  If your clinic and your insurance work together often, they sometimes have discounted rates.  For example, we have a $20k lifetime max, we did 2 unmedicated IUIs and 1 IVF cycle, and we've only used $8190 so far.  We still have a little over $11k left.  Good Luck!!

kdussault

madelyn07:

njohnson1972:

madelyn07:

njohnson1972:

madelyn07:

love2b_mrst:

Madelyn, I can't believe your meds were so much! All estimates I've ever been given were in the $3000-4000 range unless you were a slow responder. What pharmacy does your clinic use?

Really? I feel like I see a lot more women on this board with meds in that range than I do in the $2-3k range.. 

I'm not a slow responder...I've always been on 150iu of Follistim for IUIs and gotten 2-3 follies in 6 nights of stims. 

My clinic uses whichever pharmacy you want them to but they do most of their work with Southern, a pharmacy based out of Birmingham, and that's who I've always ued. They are a little more expensive for triggers than like Freedom but their other meds are pretty much right inline with everyone else.

Madelyn, my meds were $6,000-$7,000 per cycle, but I was a poor responder and took very, very high doses.  I also tend to stim for 10-13 days.

Here's my breakdown: 

7 boxes of 450iu Gonal-F Multidose (will be on 375iu/day)=$4,939

5 boxes of Ganirelix=$621

20 vials of Menopur 75iu (will be on 75iu/day)=$1057

2 boxes of Novarel trigger (10,000 each)=$245

6 boxes of 50mg PIO= $221

Add in the cost of syringes and needles and you are at about $7,100...

Your Gonal-F seems high.  I took Follistim and the equivalent dosage (3,150 IU) would cost me $3,654 through Ascend Pharmacy.

BTW - I am so excited for you!!

I thought that the multi-dose Gonal-F was more expensive than the Follistim since it can be mixed with other meds...it doesn't matter to me, though, I pay the same co-pay for Gonal-F as I did for Follistim and my co-pay doesn't change regardless of how much of the meds I get. 

not sure if this is worth it to you but Freedom doesn't charge for needles, syringes, sharps containers (with every order), alcohol wipes or sterile cotton pads... just a thought

madelyn07

kdussault:

madelyn07:

njohnson1972:

madelyn07:

njohnson1972:

madelyn07:

love2b_mrst:

Madelyn, I can't believe your meds were so much! All estimates I've ever been given were in the $3000-4000 range unless you were a slow responder. What pharmacy does your clinic use?

Really? I feel like I see a lot more women on this board with meds in that range than I do in the $2-3k range.. 

I'm not a slow responder...I've always been on 150iu of Follistim for IUIs and gotten 2-3 follies in 6 nights of stims. 

My clinic uses whichever pharmacy you want them to but they do most of their work with Southern, a pharmacy based out of Birmingham, and that's who I've always ued. They are a little more expensive for triggers than like Freedom but their other meds are pretty much right inline with everyone else.

Madelyn, my meds were $6,000-$7,000 per cycle, but I was a poor responder and took very, very high doses.  I also tend to stim for 10-13 days.

Here's my breakdown: 

7 boxes of 450iu Gonal-F Multidose (will be on 375iu/day)=$4,939

5 boxes of Ganirelix=$621

20 vials of Menopur 75iu (will be on 75iu/day)=$1057

2 boxes of Novarel trigger (10,000 each)=$245

6 boxes of 50mg PIO= $221

Add in the cost of syringes and needles and you are at about $7,100...

Your Gonal-F seems high.  I took Follistim and the equivalent dosage (3,150 IU) would cost me $3,654 through Ascend Pharmacy.

BTW - I am so excited for you!!

I thought that the multi-dose Gonal-F was more expensive than the Follistim since it can be mixed with other meds...it doesn't matter to me, though, I pay the same co-pay for Gonal-F as I did for Follistim and my co-pay doesn't change regardless of how much of the meds I get. 

not sure if this is worth it to you but Freedom doesn't charge for needles, syringes, sharps containers (with every order), alcohol wipes or sterile cotton pads... just a thought

Thanks..but they only end up being like $20 total so it is totally worth it to me to pay for it and use a pharmacy that my clinic deals with often and that is located semi-close to my house. They have fantastic customer service and have been great to work with so, hopefully I won't have to but if this IVF doesn't work, I'll happily continue to give them that $20. 

Yellow_Daisy

My IVF cycle was $8700, ICSI was an additional $1500.  So $10200 not including meds.

We didn't do a refund program because we couldn't afford to pay cash for it, it was about $16000 at my clinic.  

huskerbaby

I want to know where your clinic is! I'd move there for essentially a 3K cycle!

SeptemberBride'08:

This is my center:

 $6,000*
? Up to 2 IVF cycles.
? $3,000 deposit at date of baseline.
? 12 months interest free financing.
? $250 monthly payment deducted from credit/debit card.
? If client becomes pregnant and delivers a child prior to 2nd cycle, contract is completed.

$9,000*
? Up to 4 IVF cycles.
? $4,500 deposit at date of baseline.
? 12 months interest free financing.
? $375 monthly payment deducted from credit/debit card.
? If client becomes pregnant and delivers a child prior to 4th cycle, contract is completed.

$13,500*
? Up to 6 IVF cycles.
? $6,750 deposit at date of baseline.
? 12 months interest free financing.
? $562.50 monthly payment deducted from credit/debit card.
? If client becomes pregnant and delivers a child prior to 6th cycle, contract is completed.

*This program includes Anesthesia, ICSI, Assisted Hatching, Retrieval, Embryo Transfer, storage of frozen embryos and FET cycles for one year Patient is responsible for all labs, ultrasounds and medications. We will bill insurance for monitoring and accept what insurance pays minus the co-pays, co-insurances and deductibles. If patient has frozen embryos, they must be used prior to proceeding with the next fresh IVF cycle.

_____________

The donor program goes up to $44,000!!! I really really really hope I don't have to go that route. 

The thing I don't like about these packages is that say we go for the largest one and get KU on the first...(yay) but still need to do IVF for other children we are shiit out of luck. It's so hard to figure out which path to take. Grrrrrrrrr.

illinigal

Thanks for posting this.  I was actually just wondering this weekend how much IVF costs if we had to move from insurance to OOP.

illinigal

TOTALLY THINKING THE SAME THING!

huskerbaby:

I want to know where your clinic is! I'd move there for essentially a 3K cycle!

SeptemberBride'08:

This is my center:

 $6,000*
? Up to 2 IVF cycles.
? $3,000 deposit at date of baseline.
? 12 months interest free financing.
? $250 monthly payment deducted from credit/debit card.
? If client becomes pregnant and delivers a child prior to 2nd cycle, contract is completed.

$9,000*
? Up to 4 IVF cycles.
? $4,500 deposit at date of baseline.
? 12 months interest free financing.
? $375 monthly payment deducted from credit/debit card.
? If client becomes pregnant and delivers a child prior to 4th cycle, contract is completed.

$13,500*
? Up to 6 IVF cycles.
? $6,750 deposit at date of baseline.
? 12 months interest free financing.
? $562.50 monthly payment deducted from credit/debit card.
? If client becomes pregnant and delivers a child prior to 6th cycle, contract is completed.

*This program includes Anesthesia, ICSI, Assisted Hatching, Retrieval, Embryo Transfer, storage of frozen embryos and FET cycles for one year Patient is responsible for all labs, ultrasounds and medications. We will bill insurance for monitoring and accept what insurance pays minus the co-pays, co-insurances and deductibles. If patient has frozen embryos, they must be used prior to proceeding with the next fresh IVF cycle.

_____________

The donor program goes up to $44,000!!! I really really really hope I don't have to go that route. 

The thing I don't like about these packages is that say we go for the largest one and get KU on the first...(yay) but still need to do IVF for other children we are shiit out of luck. It's so hard to figure out which path to take. Grrrrrrrrr.

babylove0511

ours is $15,000 OOP for IVF not including anesthesia and meds. 

Edwina.McDunnough

madelyn07:

... I pay the same co-pay for Gonal-F as I did for Follistim and my co-pay doesn't change regardless of how much of the meds I get. 

Good for you. I doubt you going to 20 days of stims as per your Menopur order, or two trigger shots, so you'll probably have leftover (nicer than a deficit).