$19,000 to have a baby! What?!?

Question

I just heard from my department, that it costs $19,000 (or more in some cases) to have an invitro done. Also, a lot of insurances don't have a guideline, if you will, to what they would cover for invitro, if any. Do you think it should be covered by insurance the standard 80/20%?

I think it should for those of whom can't physically conceive. I would think that not being able to physically conceive a baby is a medical problem.

Answer 1

I agree, it should be covered within insurance. it is a heartbreaking medical condition to find that you cannot concieve naturally,and i feel that a lot of money that is put toward fertility treatment, could have easily been the child's college fund, or money toward a better home, or safer car to have children in. I dont believe that its fair.

Answer 2

I agree completely and think that insurance should cover fertility treatments.  When going through treatments, I did a lot of research in this area - here is what I found out:

It is not about just the insurance company - it also depends on the state that you live in, where your employer is located etc . . . Currently 15 states in the US mandate some sort of fertility coverage. You can refer to the Resolve Website for info on the states that require coverage:

http://www.resolve.org/site/PageServer?p...

Resolve is also a great organization to become involved in if you seriously feel strongly about insurance covering fertility treatments as well as support and assistance when seeking treatments.

If you are personally dealing with this, I also recommend that you contact Fertility Life lines - they have a free hotline (1-866-LETS TRY) that you can call and have someone help you to better understand your coverage and to do an analysis for you. They were great - gave them my policy info and they researched it, got me all of the info on what was and was not covered and explained it to me:

http://www.fertilitylifelines.com/

If you cannot find insurance coverage here are some other suggestions:

1) Start with the RE - most doctors have a team that can help you with finding ways to pay for your treatment - they are amazing at figuring out your insurance benefits, coming up payment plans and may even be able to recommend medical studies / clinical trials that you may be able to participate in.

2) Grants -there are groups out there that fund raise for fertility treatments - you need to apply and cross your fingers.

3) Loans - banks and credit card companies (my friend used Capital One) offer fertility loans with fair interest rates and payment plans. Maybe see if you can borrow from a family member.

4) Serious budgeting - I also know couples who have taken part time / seasonal jobs to save up for treatments, sold things on ebay etc . . .

5) Move to one of the 15 states that do mandate coverage and find a job there . . .which shouldn't be necessary . . . there should be some sort of federal guideline!

Here is another great link for you:

http://www.nobabyonboard.com/options.htm...

Answer 3

well what any insurance company will cover is going to be determined by the policy so the ONLY way to tell it to ask your insurance company. also who is to be the judge of whether or not a couple can't conceive verses just having a hard time with it? i conceived my son within a few months of going off BC, it took my friend almost 2 years.... who gets to judge what is too long?

Answer 4

My sister in law had it done, TWICE, and had to pay both times. The first time it didnt work because the doctore was a moron, but it ran $16,000 each time she did it. So that's probably about right. (I'm in texas, in case it varies from state to state)