Usually your RE’s office will give you resources for companies that offer financing. I got options from mine but I don’t remember the company names now. It’s basically like a personal loan. What I did with my DH was get 2 new credit cards. Together they had a limit of $30,000 and had no interest for at least the first year. If you have good credit and think you can pay it off within a year that may be a good option and can save you a lot of money. If you own your home for at least a couple years then a home equity loan or line of credit may be another good option for a lower interest rate. I know paying out of pocket for IVF sucks. Best of luck to you!
Thanks! @safire3, I think the most reasonable for us would be trying to save up for part of it and financing or using the credit cards for the rest. We will most likely take a bit of a break before jumping into IVF.
We are also out of pocket for all of this. The cost of this is absolutely insane. I was surprised when I found out the cost of the medications was almost as much as what we paid the RE. We have done one cycle. We had a little money saved and put the rest on a no interest credit card that we will be able to pay off before actually having to pay interest. Have you looked into whether you are eligible for any discount programs for medications? I applied for First Steps and EMD Serono. It is income based, up to 75% off the cost. Both give you either 5% (First Steps) or 10% (EMD) discount just for applying regardless of income. It's not a lot, in the context of everything but anything helps.
We used Attain for financing. I think they only work with specific clinics, so not sure if they’re an option for you. It was about $28 K for up to two retrievals and all the embryo implants - if everything fails after all that we get half our money back. Biggest issue is it doesn’t cover any medications. Letrozole and Estrace are covered by my insurance, but all the Gonal, Menopur, Cetrotide, triggers, all the progesterone support is 100% out of pocket. Be sure to ask for “cash price” as sometimes it’s less, plus ask if they have any coupons. Freedom Pharmacy and Integrity Rx both usually will have some kind of discount if you ask - but it’s still insanely expensive so don’t get your hopes up.
@LauraJon2015 Attain called me and I think the multicycle discount could work for some people. Unfortunately I was a year too old (at 38) and my AMH was too low for me to have been eligible for any money back. Also, I'm not likely to get a lot of embryos so the unlimited frozen transfer wasn't really a selling point. My clinic offered a reduced rate for additional cycles and only charged me for the services we actually used. We paid about $10000 and ended up with a $5000 credit last cycle after we unfortunately didn't end up with any eggs after retrieval. We were also given about a $2500 discount off our 2nd cycle by working directly with the clinic. This was a better "deal" for our circumstances than Attain. Some pharmacies will price match too. I used SMP last time and they price matched and honored a $100 off coupon from another pharmacy. I hate asking for discounts but in my experience so far there seems to be some room for negotiation in price with both my clinic and for the medication. It never hurts to ask!
Thanks! @LauraJon2015 they are partnered with Win fertility, which is similar to Attain. They will get the paper work to see what their price would be. @ah80 I called a bunch of pharmacies for my gonal f (doing iui) and was able to get the 450 iui for 360, just by calling to see prices. My RE also get s a discount through the pharmacy. Thanks I will ask for any other promos if it’s a different med!
@LauraJon2015@ah80 I'm curious as to why there's such a big gap in the cost. $28K vs $10K is a huge difference. Is it because one is two retrievals and the other isn't? Also, what does two retrievals mean? Does that mean two separate procedures. Sorry for all the questions. I'm now looking into this instead of IUI.
We got 4 financing options (besides pay as you go). We picked the two retrieval with refund option, which means I did the first retrieval, then we have to go through all the embryos attempting to have a live birth. If we run out of those embryos, I go back for a second retrieval and we do it again. If we still burn through all those embryos and there’s no live birth, we get 50% of our money back. Keep in mind this is for everything except medication, so it’s more expensive than it seems. The most expensive option was 3 retrievals with 100% refund... for that one you have to do retrieval and then go through all the embryos before you can start the next retrieval. They also had 2 and 3 retrieval options with no refund. These are slightly cheaper compared with the refund options, plus you get more control. You can do back to back (to back) retrievals if you want to stockpile as many embryos as possible before you start transfers, or whatever order you want. Again, no medications are included in any of the options.
It's like they are betting on you being successful, in which case you pay more per cycle, and you are buying an insurance plan in case you are not successful. Attain told me that they had a plan that covered medications but my clinic told me that it doesn't cover any of the fertility medications. I definitely think it could be a good option for some people. For us, I can't see how it would be a financial benefit to us.
We were OOP for our first IVF and also did the 0% intro credit card to help pay. Saved us a ton plus we got a bunch of airline points. I'm looking to start IVF #2 next year and luckily have moved to a state with individual insurance policies offering IVF coverage (very few states offer that though and open enrollment just ended). If you're OOP for meds, I recommend looking to see if there's a local fertility support group or see of there's a Facebook group for your area/clinic to join. I joined a group for my clinic and a lot of women with insurance coverage will donate extra meds to those OOP.
***pregnancy mentioned***
Me: 27/ DH: 29
Dx: obstructive azoospermia
IVF#1: October 2015
10/7/2015: ER 11 retrieved, 8 mature, 7 fertilized w/ ICSI
10/12/2015: Transferred 5AA and 4AA blasts, froze one 4AA and 4BB
We are OOP. Our insurance covers nothing! But, we have even bigger problems. We live in Cambodia: Dw is Cambodian and I am American. Which is bad news, because local banks will not give us a loan because I am a foreigner. Worse, I am the main bread winner. DW's salary is not enough to secure a loan. We have some real estate that would cover the costs, but we have not been able to sell it for 3 years and the banks won't take it as collateral.
Last week, my parents, who have just retired, offered to pay for the IVF. But, they would be using some of their 401k money, which is supposed to last their entire retirement. What a choice! I don't want to take their money, but I don't see any other way to pay for IVF.
We're not in ivf, but we have been saving for quite a while just to avoid any financial difficulties. which are pretty unavoidable. and on top of that, we decided on a program in an agency abroad. which helped us a lot.
I wish I had opened a HSA account a lot sooner! Which only applies in the U.S., but I didn't realize that taxes and health insurance assistance are calculated BEFORE medical deductions, while HSA contributions lower your gross income.
What interest free for 12-18 months credit cards are you guys using? DW and I applied for a few. My wife’s was only given a $4000 limit (US bank platinum card - interest free x 21 months) and mine (chase freedom) was $7000. We had enough saved for that to work, but just curious which credit cards you have found to be the best!
Our clinic, Shady Grove Fertility, had a multi-cycle program with 100% money back guarantee - so we get 6 IVF cycles with unlimited transfers, ICSI, and embryo freezing for a year all included. It was originally $19,500, but we got a further income based discount, so it’s only $16,575, which is amazing for all that we are getting! Our meds were only about $2800 with the EMD Serono 50% compassionate care discount. We looked around at the 6 clinics in the Atlanta area, and shady grove had the best deal with good success rates.
Just an FYI to all, I did an online credit card application and got approved for $7000, but I called the credit card company and let them know that the credit card was for IVF and that I needed $12200. I let them know that it would be used at a fertility clinic and all at once. They upped it right then and there! Had I not called, I would have never known. Best of luck to all those OOP!
ispi
member
Re: IVF financing?
Usually your RE’s office will give you resources for companies that offer financing. I got options from mine but I don’t remember the company names now. It’s basically like a personal loan. What I did with my DH was get 2 new credit cards. Together they had a limit of $30,000 and had no interest for at least the first year. If you have good credit and think you can pay it off within a year that may be a good option and can save you a lot of money.
If you own your home for at least a couple years then a home equity loan or line of credit may be another good option for a lower interest rate. I know paying out of pocket for IVF sucks. Best of luck to you!
The most expensive option was 3 retrievals with 100% refund... for that one you have to do retrieval and then go through all the embryos before you can start the next retrieval.
They also had 2 and 3 retrieval options with no refund. These are slightly cheaper compared with the refund options, plus you get more control. You can do back to back (to back) retrievals if you want to stockpile as many embryos as possible before you start transfers, or whatever order you want. Again, no medications are included in any of the options.
Last week, my parents, who have just retired, offered to pay for the IVF. But, they would be using some of their 401k money, which is supposed to last their entire retirement. What a choice! I don't want to take their money, but I don't see any other way to pay for IVF.
IF is a struggle.
Our clinic, Shady Grove Fertility, had a multi-cycle program with 100% money back guarantee - so we get 6 IVF cycles with unlimited transfers, ICSI, and embryo freezing for a year all included. It was originally $19,500, but we got a further income based discount, so it’s only $16,575, which is amazing for all that we are getting! Our meds were only about $2800 with the EMD Serono 50% compassionate care discount. We looked around at the 6 clinics in the Atlanta area, and shady grove had the best deal with good success rates.