How much did your IVF medications cost?

vssbrm · November 2015

I understand that this most likely varies from woman to woman, but I am going to still ask the question. My clinic quoted that they would be about $1000 total. From what I have seen on here that seems very low. So to help us decide what route we will take this winter/spring I would like to ask the experts: How much were your meds (if you don't mind my asking)? I do not have fertility insurance coverage, please specify prior to insurance coverage is possible!

Thank you in advance.

beckihall · November 2015

I did have coverage. But the coast if I didn't have coverage for what the doctor prescribed me would have been between $5000 and $6000.

vssbrm · November 2015

@beckihall That is closer to what I was expecting! I am not sure how they are getting $1000...

Did you get the email I sent you? (I am Vicki). I have been having problems w my email, I do not see it in my draft or out folders, so before I rewrite it I was going to check.

Thank you again for being so responsive!

bsckgb7 · November 2015

You can purchase a "meds package" from my doc and it's about 3k. Maybe they just have some really good package set up!!

PCOSat25 · November 2015

Man $1000 sounds GREAT. I am doing IUIs right now, no perception coverage, with injectables. My meds next cycle will be about $800 and I am on a relatively low dose...

The cost of meds alone is one of the HUGE reasons I am trying a few IUI cycles before IVF

misspuppychow · November 2015

Depends on what you get. My Novarel (HCG trigger) was $120 or $130.

ShanTeach · November 2015

We had no insurance coverage and went with Freedom Pharmacy. They gave us a discount since we were paying out of pocket, and we received a mail in rebate for a couple hundred dollars. All in all, for 10 days of menopur & gonal-f, 7 days of Cetrotide, 1 ovidrel trigger shot, and 4 vials of progesterone in oil, we paid under $4000.

khochanadel · November 2015

Between our ivf and fet cycle, we paid about $5k. Insurance paid for syringes. #geethanks

Piperella · November 2015

My meds came from two different pharmacies.

We did Freedom Pharmacy for Follistim and Ovridel. Not sure of the cash prices but they have a website with the cash price put on there (with the discounts)

We used Acaria Health Pharmacy for Menopur and Ganirelix

8 days of menopur 75 - cash price 632.00

1 day of ganirelix - cash price 123.00

I've heard that Walgreens Speciality is good with cash / oop patients. That being said, my RE wanted to use Acaria Health because they've had issues with Walgreens sending out medications on time recently... They have the same prices and use different discounts/rebates, but equal the same amount +/- a couple of dollars. Hope this helps.

emsmama15 · November 2015

I had insurance coverage, but $5000-6000 is about what friends have paid who've gone through it. One of my meds wasn't covered and I went through Walgreens. They actually called a couple places and got me a cheaper price, which I was kind of surprised by!!

Aashly101 · November 2015

Our first two rounds of meds for IVF were $3000 each. Our 3rd one is 5k. We didn't have coverage either.

babyexpress · November 2015

My insurance doesn't cover meds and my RE said the average is $3,000-$3,500, depending on what is prescribed. I am right next to MDR Pharmacy, which is a big infertility pharmacy in LA and they have very competitive prices. I figured, worst case with no coupons, $3500.

athompson0308 · November 2015

We didnt have insurance coverage. We paid $4,000 to start and another $400 once pregnant.

PCOSat25 · November 2015

MDR is a great option for infertility meds. You can apply for the first steps discount program which offers anywhere from 5-75% discount depending on income. They also have a minimum 25% discount for military/veterans regardless of income.

beckihall · November 2015

@vssbrm I did get your email and responded. Let me know if you didn't get it I can re send my email.

SafariGal28 · November 2015

It pays to shop around. My stimulation cycle cost about 5k but I think my doses were on the higher end. I had insurance but it didn't cover my meds except one. Unfortunately even with it covered the insurance only paid $500 per claim which is peanuts since the cash price is much lower than what is submitted to insurance. So our best option was to pay out of pocket to get the best price. I also used 2 different pharmacies since one pharmacy had a significantly better price for follistim then the other.

vssbrm · November 2015

@beckihall I did get your email, for some reason it shows up on my computer but not phone. Thank you!

@PCOSat25 my husband is a Veteran, that is great news, I will look into that pharmacy!!! I have been following your story, I hope this next deployment goes well for you. I do not miss those days, my husband was in the middle east for almost 3 years total... not fun. I hope you husband is being deployed to a safer area.

Thank you ladies for all the responses, very much appreciated.

PCOSat25 · November 2015

@vssbrm thank you and your husband for your service! My husband has done two tours in the Middle East but luckily this time he will NOT BE THERE! He is going to Europe for a training mission with the another national army! So it will be non-combat and at least I will know he is safe

If you go to the MDR pharmacy home page there is a banner for the first start program. You can print the paper application and send in a copy of your husbands discharge paperwork (or some other options). They should get back to you with your approval for the discount within a business day! I would recommend doing it now even if you may not use that pharmacy. It is always good to have it already approved in your back pocket so you don't have to worry about waiting on the approval when you are ordering your actual meds.

Best of luck with your treatment. have you asked your clinic about any military discounts. I know my clinic here in CA has one but only for IVF so we have not used it yet.

PrayingMom2Be · November 2015

DH and I paid OOP for EVERYTHING because our insurance coverage is thru my employer which is a Catholic entity (only meds they covered is PIO) our first set of stims was about $2300 and that was thru the First Steps Program with a 25% discount on a few meds. I started with crinone which is 2x the cost of PIO so ask about that as well. Meds for first FET cost us $60 for more PIO and estradiol pills! Second stims cost us a little under $900 and now we are on our second FET which has me on BCP and estradiol which is $20 I believe but both covered and I still have 20 days left on PIO. I started with Mandels pharmacy in New Jersey but then they switched discount programs so I then went to Healy's in IL which is closer and does free shipping period and are apart of the First Steps program.

Hope this was helpful, FX and GL on your journey!

MSR1977 · November 2015

Anyone that paid for BRAVELLE bw March-October 2015 is eligible for refund from the pharmaceutical company. I believe it's FERRING PHARMACEUTICALS. Google it. I got a letter asking me to call and send in receipts.

RRDP · December 2015

I have never posted before so please let me know if there is another thread out there with price lists.

I do not have any insurance coverage for fertility meds. I applied to the First Steps and Compassionate Care programs and did not get a discount from either! I called a lot of pharmacies and I got the best pricing from Win Fertility. Win will only give you a bundle price and will not tell you how much an individual medication costs. I've ordered so many bundles from them that I was able to figure out their pricing. I'm posting it below in hopes that it helps someone else!

Win DOES NOT have the best pricing on Menopur and the rep I spoke with actually told me to get it somewhere else. I ordered it from MDR for $79.89.

In order to get a "bundle" from Win you have to order at least 2 medications. If you only need to order 1 medication, just have your nurse add Estrace to the order. Estrace is $0 and makes your order qualify as a bundle! You can get a discount of ~2-3% if you pay with a check. Win fulfills orders at Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy. If you live near one, you can ask to pick up the order directly from the pharmacy.

Ovidrel: $76.50

Follistim 300: $205

Menopur: $86.67

Ganirelix: $99.39

Lupron 2-week kit: $107

Estrace: $0

One last thing- even if you don't have fertility coverage, check to see if PIO or Lupron are covered since they are used for other conditions. I got a 90 day supply of PIO for $20. Lupron was also covered, but the insurance price was more than Win.

caitiemae · December 2015

It can vary quite a bit depending on what dosage you're going to end up needing which can vary quite a bit. My office said to expect $4000-6000, luckily we ended up spending less than $3000. My RE said I could pick whatever I wanted between Gonal-F, Follistim, and Bravelle. I went w/ Bravelle since there is a rebate program for 50% Bravelle + 15% off the other Ferring pharmiceautical products (Menopur, Endometrin, and Novarel HCG trigger shot). Below are my post-rebate prices from Freedom Pharmacy

Bravelle $31.95 per 75 iu vial

Menopur $67.92 per 75 iu vial

Novarel (HCG trigger) $84.9

FYI I used 150 iu of Bravelle and Menopur for 10 days for a total of 20 vials each. I'd 27 w/ no known fertility issues.

Also, there was a recall on Bravelle. I don't believe that I received a bad batch, but I at least will get refunded for the Bravelle I purchased.

vssbrm · December 2015

@caitiemae and @rrdp thank you so much for sharing! This information helps so much!

ehanssmann · December 2015

Our cost was definitely closer to the $5,000 range. The gonal was the most expensive at around $900 per kit and we went through 2 1/2. Happily we got a BFP so the medication costs are still going up with the progesterone and estrace but that is ok!