Have you done reciprocal IVF?

Crensci

I was wondering if I can get an idea from someone who has actually gone through reciprocal IVF, what meds we can both expect, and if your insurance didn't cover any of it, how much did it end up costing? If there's anyone who did it in the Seattle area that would be even better! We're still in the process of trying to choose a clinic and decide if we want to save up or try financing and DP is kinda freaking out at the cost. Lots of hospitals around here advertise how much it might be for a straight couple, but there isn't really much information about how it would break down when two people are involved in the process.

Any information you may have would be greatly appreciated!

2MamazInSeattle

Hi,

My partner and I did not do reciprocal IVF but we did use donor eggs for our IVF, and as a result much of what was not done to my body specifically was able to be billed to my wife's insurance since we both are on my insurance. This took a lot of the cost off of my insurance, left room on my lifetime max, etc.

We did test to see if we could use her eggs, but we couldn't. Even if we had, the savings was only the egg donor fee ($4500) - otherwise, all of the medical, donor coordination fee, etc. costs were the same as using a donor; which is more than using your own egg for IVF (Coordination fee is $3000ish). And certain things, like the "coordination" fee are not billable to insurance. But anything medical was- in our case - we even got our donor's meds covered b/c my partner was on my insurance.

We used Seattle Reproductive Medicine and if you would like some thoughts on our experience, send me a PM and I'm happy to. Overall, we've been happy but I think with each clinic there is a sort of 'personality' and it's smart to be sure it's a good fit!

 

mollykelley

Hi Crensci,

I did reciprocal IVF with my wife and it was covered by insurance. This is because of the amazing clinic that we work with in California and their knowledge of working with same sex couples and insurance companies. Everyone's situation (medical, etc) is different, so I'm just sharing what happened for us.

In order for us to get coverage, there needed to be a medical reason for us to do reciprocal IVF (see my history below). Even for straight couples, many insurance companies require several IUIs before they can be considered for IVF (or some reason like blocked tubes). It all depends on what your insurance requires. Without the cost of sperm, we paid around $2,000 OOP for the IVF. That doesn't count all the money we spent on failed IUIs over almost a year. I feel very blessed that it worked the first time, as I was almost at the end of my lifetime allowance for infertility coverage ($15k). If we want to have a second with the frozen embryos, my wife may have to carry or we would have to pay OOP for me to have the transfer.

As far as the meds go, I could write a whole blog on the process of the two of us being on meds at the same time - first both of us on birth control, then for me to suppress ovulation while she was on stims to get the max number of eggs. Fun times! Then after the transfer all the meds I had to take (and am still taking) to support the pregnancy. The meds are where the cost is really outrageous. My wife had a max of $2,000 of insurance that would cover meds for infertility, and we ended up needing to buy one vial OOP and it cost nearly $500. That is about $500 per day for preparatory treatments, that can last from 7-10 days depending on how you respond to stims so thank God we ended up only having to pay for one day of it. We wouldn't have been able to do it otherwise. There are groups on the Infertility board that give away leftover meds to eachother for people who are OOP, they are sooo expensive.

I wish you the best. I agree it is really important to find a good doctor/clinic to work with. That can make all the difference. I wouldn't have been able to navigate insurance requirements otherwise. If you don't have a medical reason to need reciprocal IVF, and if you don't plan on using insurance coverage, I was told the costs would be similar to what you would pay for one person to do IVF (with her own eggs). They are the same meds and procedures, you just take eggs from one woman and transfer them to the other. My clinic said there is no additional charge for doing this with two people. It will depend on what is the policy where you decide to go.

The idea of reciprocal IVF is a beautiful one, and I'm very blessed that this was the outcome for us. It was only after much struggle that we came to this solution, and I wouldn't have been able to afford it without all the difficulty I experienced prior to IVF. I think this is the coolest thing medically available to lesbians at this time, and everything I have done up until now has been entirely worth it. 

Good luck!

Kate&Mylan

hi!  we are doing reciprocal IVF.  we are not married (that's happening in september) and we are in michigian which wouldn't recognize it if we were.  she has IVF coverage (just for being same sex - no work up or IUI failures needed which was awesome), but even if we were married it does not cover the partner and i'm not on her insurance anyway.  her side OOP was about 2K per cycle but would have been about 17K including meds if she hadnt been insured.  my side (as the carrier) was about 2K plus meds (meds fortunately for the carrier are MUCH less expensive - about 500$ total).  

if you don't have insurance, the meds for whoever is doing ovarian stims can be really expensive - 8K was the "list price" for once cycle.  however, many pharmacies have reduced rates for those who don't have fertility coverage.  i used walgreen's specialty pharmacy.  there are "plans" just for not having insurance - and you can sign up for more than one, usually a 25-50$ fee that shaves a few thousand off the price tag.  there are also plans that require having an income under X amount which we did not qualify for but are worth looking into.  definitely shop around for med options b/c it really can help with the budgeting. 

good luck!

maggiemay33

Hi! 

My wife and I are also doing reciprocal IVF (or at least trying to - we've hit some unexpected snags). Just wanted to say welcome.