IVF - am I missing something

crashwave · October 2014

I read on here and other forums ladies that have gone through IVF after IVF and I'm a little confused. Do these ladies make 6+ figure incomes and/or just have $15,000+ to keep spending every other cycle on IVF? I mean I don't even make that much in 6 months let alone have extra to save for 1 IVF in 2+ years. Is there something I'm missing, cheaper places, non-profits or are they just rich and can afford trials and fails at $60,000 in a year. Getting very depressed, dr has refused treating me after 3 follistim cycles with only one follicle, will only do donor eggs she says. I can't even afford IVF with my eggs and there is NO WAY I can ever afford that.

tptbabe · October 2014

Unfortunately, you're not missing anything. It's stupidly expensive! We're now 100% OOP (we did have some Rx coverage until last week) and we saved for a couple of years for our first cycle. Our second will come out of our home equity line of credit, along with some savings that we've managed to accumulate again. We were fairly young (some might say stupidly young) when we bought our first house, so we're fortunate to have enough equity for it, and hopefully it will be worth it?

There are lots of ways to be able to pay for it, you just have to be creative sometimes. You're definitely not alone!

Dyork · October 2014

I'm lucky enough to live in a state where insurance is required to cover it. And it absolutely boggles my mind that this isn't nation wide. Families shouldn't be forced to find ways to pay for something that's already so difficult to go through.

I know there's also grants and aid to help people who are paying OOP.

obizyanka · October 2014

When you want something enough, there is always a way. We are completely Out of pocket. Not rich either. Husband is fully employed. I work part time and owe abt 70grand more to school loans. You have to keep in mind that there will never be a better time. If you keep putting it off the only thing that happens is you both get older and the success rate decreases. Perhaps try overseas? It is definitely less expensive in E Europe.

tweetyknicks · October 2014

We're OOP and paying for it with a home equity line of credit. DH and I are fortunate to have jobs that pay enough to pay off the line of credit within a couple of years. Our clinic offers a multi-cycle deal, which saves a lot if you have to do more than a single fresh cycle.

IfMamaAintHappy · October 2014

We're 100% OOP and have just used the majority of our savings that we planned to use for a down payment on a new house. I obviously want a baby more than a new house, so there it went.

Twinkie0612 · October 2014

We have paid for 4 fresh IVF and 1 FET with donor embryos 100% OOP and we are nowhere near what I would call wealthy. We refinanced our house and used the equity to pay for our first 2 cycles. We used our savings and borrowed some money from my inlaws for the 3rd cycle. Our FET was paid for using our tax return (which was larger since we could itemize and claim our first two IVF cycles on our taxes that year). This 4th cycle is being paid for out of our savings.

We did not do a cycle package, but we did receive a discount on this IVF since we had already done 3 cycles with my clinic. The biggest areas where we were able to save money is with meds. I have been lucky to have some meds donated to me and I also got a discount on follistim, ganirelix, and pregnyl through DesignRx First Steps. There is a similar program called Compassionate Care that provides discounts on gonal-f, cetrotide, and ovidrel.

Other than that we were lucky that we had a large savings built up and that we had equity in our house that we could use. We also have cut out a lot of descretionary spending. We drove cars that were paid off (well until last week when DH's car was totaled in an accident) and haven't been on a vacation in years. If this cycle fails, we will probably move on to either donor eggs or another donor embryo cycle. If we decide on donor eggs we will have to take out a loan or will be on a financial break because we don't have the savings for a DE cycle OOP.

Unknown · October 2014

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ronniesgirl1981 · October 2014

It really is unbelievable. I am fortunate to have coverage for OE IVF. However, we may very well need DE and it'll cost $30k...but we'll do it. Many people pay more than that for a car and there truly is no comparison. We will probably end up taking most of that in a loan. My only request was that we pay of my car first, so that some money is freed up in the budget. And, yes, it fucking sucks.

ronniesgirl1981 · October 2014

Also wanted to share my RE's spin on the price. That we need to stop looking at it through today's lens. If you don't do it because of the price, in 30 years it will seem like not a lot of money and you'll have so many regrets. Sometimes I do feel cynical, though. I was looking at my clinic's website and saw an employment opportunity in a sales position.

siempre595 · October 2014

I was lucky enough to have the savings (which I worked several years to accumulate). It still sucks to pull that amount of money out in such a short time. WIth no guarantee there is any return on your "investment" If you are the "reason" to need IVF (we are unexplained, but it's probably me), I find I carry a lot of guilt about the money we have used to get pregnant. I feel like I need to personally replace that money as fast as possible, even though my husband has much more earning power than me and does not seem the least bit concerned about the necessary costs. The emotional effect of the financial blow is just another piece of what sucks about being here. In time, if you get pregnant, the money won't matter. But if you don't, it's another hurdle to overcome. God forbid insurance companies (which are making billions) give a free IVF cycle out to the small percentage of their clients actually needing it. I remain bitter.

ktabs · October 2014

I think a good way to make money is to make and sell t-shirts that say
"We spent our savings on IVF treatments and all we got was this t-shirt"
I bet they would sell! Haha

Sha259 · October 2014

Soo many people finance IVF in sooo many ways.

Personally, DH and I have been married for 10 years, and focused our efforts on saving during that time. We never really imagined that we would need it for IF, but we are really lucky to have it. I also have stellar (though still getting more expensive) health insurance through my job, so have had to pay a fraction of the total cost of what our procedures and meds have actually cost.

Never for a day do I take for granted that I am really lucky to have the means with which to do IVF that I do, even not living in a mandate state. But even with the financial stress gone, IF is still sucky.

emmuffy · October 2014

I'm 100% OOP on IVF, and while my spouse and I have good incomes, paying for multiple rounds of IVF on top of our other expenses would not be possible without taking on debt. We've cut back, but that can only go so far. Thankfully, my parents gave me some money towards my first IVF cycle, and they'll probably do the same for another cycle (their house is paid off and they are able to afford it). If I didnt' have this help, I'd still go ahead but would have to wait longer between cycles. I agree with the others who have commented that they don't want to be in a position of regret later in life when they finally have financial security but not the family they always wanted. Best of luck

carrieharry79 · October 2014

I think it's just like anything anything else... some people make a lot of money, some people don't. Some have to do payment plans, others are doing this at 40 and have saved up. I am one of the lucky MA residents that has insurance coverage, but if I wasn't, I would have to work to save for it in the same way we saved for the downpayment on our house. I often think of those that can't make ends meet to try IVF and it makes me sad. It's stressful enough for us without it being a huge financial burden.

obizyanka · October 2014

Thats awesome that MA insurance covers IVF

one cycle? multiple? We may all be moving lol

jencity9 · October 2014

We are fortunate enough to have some insurance coverage so we took out a loan from a credit union to cover the rest but will only be able to afford two attempts (the first one failed so this is it).

Dyork · October 2014

obizyanka said:

Thats awesome that MA insurance covers IVF one cycle? multiple? We may all be moving lol

As far as I'm aware, it's as many cycles as you choose to do. I haven't been told by my RE or insurance company that there is a cap. I did find out that BlueCrossBlueShield covers a year of egg freezing, and Fallon does not, or at least not my plan. So there are a few things that slid by. But I'd rather pay a couple hundred bucks per round, over thousands of dollars.

SweetieShellieH · October 2014

We're fortunate enough that DH's mother who went through IF before IVF was even an option (he's adopted) will be helping us pay for our IVF. Dh's insurance cover 80% of the medication, but nothing else. Not the procedure, not embryo freezing, none of it. Even just to have partial coverage for medication has helped us a lot during our IUIs which we paid for all on our own. If DHs mother couldn't help us with IVF we both have line of credits which combined equal about 22,000. That's what we'd have to use, and obviously we would have to pay back with interest. I think our clinic also offers financing too. Friends of ours had to use an early inheritance from their grandparents in order to pay for their IVF cycles.

KM721 · October 2014

@obizyanka and @Dyork--I am also a MA resident. I am in the middle of cycle 3 right now. I do get the sense that after 4 or 5 insurance may stop approving. It is absolutely a huge blessing. For all the things I don't love about Massachusetts, this one makes up for it! We will be here until we have our family. I have so much sympathy for those who are OOP. Just like someone else said--this is stressful enough--financial stress is just a twist of the knife.

jnissa · October 2014

So, I have five women in my immediate circle who are all IVF moms, and all had different payment circumstances. It really can matter.

Woman #1: Lives in CA where her insurance covers things. Three rounds of IUI and one round of IVF to get pregnant. Total OOP cost was around $3000

Woman #2: Lives in CA where her insurance covers things. Three rounds of IVF to get pregnant with the fist two involving both fresh and frozen FET. One round cancelled due to low follicle count midway through so the cost of meds still counted. Total OOP about $10k.

Woman #4: Lived in NY and completely OOP. Was 40 with a 42 year old husband. One round of IVF OOP with their savings bc they were older about $17k.

Woman #5: Lives in MA but may not have lived there when she did her IVF because I know she paid OOP. One IVF round and then a second frozen transfer years later for her second child. Her husband was much older and had ample savings. Total cost for both OOP about $22k.

Me: We did one round of IVF with no other fertility treatments first and completely OOP. $17k. In 12 months we get upgraded to insurance that covers fertility so if we decide to go for #2 it will be covered. We were both 39 when we started IVF so we had savings we could use and had put enough away for either three rounds of IVF with our own eggs or 1 round with our own and 1 round with donor. Estimated cost for us once we're insurance covered: $1200.

So it's a HUGE difference if you have insurance or not. Literally tens of thousands of dollars. I don't actually think that fertility should by default be insurance covered - like I don't really think that because I waited until I was 39 to have a baby I should have this procedure covered by insurance. But I do think that women younger than 35 should always have this covered by insurance. What I do know is that is something is costing $17k without insurance and $1200 with, somewhere along the line somebody is getting seriously ripped off.

Sha259 · October 2014

jnissa said:
So it's a HUGE difference if you have insurance or not. Literally tens of thousands of dollars. I don't actually think that fertility should by default be insurance covered - like I don't really think that because I waited until I was 39 to have a baby I should have this procedure covered by insurance. But I do think that women younger than 35 should always have this covered by insurance. What I do know is that is something is costing $17k without insurance and $1200 with, somewhere along the line somebody is getting seriously ripped off.
***Spacing for quote fail***
Personally, I wish they treated IF like any other disease. My DH is 31 and has MFI, this is a medical condition. I am 32 and have one blocked tube, fibroids, and endometriosis, those are all medical conditions. The problem is that most providers will pay to fix those problems at most, and will not cover the actual procedures to produce a child. Even though surgical procedures to fix the physical issue do not guarantee a return to fertility (I know from experience).

I am extremely lucky that, due to our companies choice in health coverage, we have only paid $5000 OOP ( some from pre-tax dollars, procedures and meds included) for 3 IUIs,1 cancelled and 1 full IVF cycle, a D&C, m/c embryo karyotyping, and embryo cryopreservation and storage (embryo freezing is not covered). That's a lot to pay in one year, but that's a lot of crap to have done! Doing my next FET is going to cost the same as one of my IUI cycles. That blew my mind when they told me that. Last year, I had a total of 2 surgeries that literally cost me $50 each.

It sucks, but because companies have a choice as to what coverage they offer, everyone's coverage will be different, and some will have better coverage than others, who still have better that others. This unfortunately holds true even in mandate states it seems.

It's already been a crappy enough IF year for me, I cannot imagine if I had to deal with the emotional outcomes, and also had financial grief to make it worse. It makes me angry for those who have to deal with that

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