Trying to Conceive Community

We have just started but I had a m/c back in feb so I met my $250 deductible very quickly after that. My insurance will cover testing for infertility but I think you have to have been trying for atleast one year and that includes a diagnositc lap if needed and blood tests. They do not cover IUI or IVF however.

Hi Hgreenwood7058,

I am so sorry about your m/c. My heart goes out to you.

Do you and your husband have a plan for how to come up with the money for an IUI of IVF? I am sorry your insurance doesn't cover either of them, but I don't think it's very uncommon. On top of all the other stress of TTC, I really hate you have to stress about money to pay for procedures as well.

Take care,
Emma

As of right now we will not be planning any of those any time soon. I had a good u/s report back on 3/3 showing no cysts or anything but given the pcos if it starts causing problems again may be a possibility a few years down the line. First step is to try it natural, then clomid then move on from there. I know I can get pregnant now (I was told back when I was 14 that I may not be able to have children-due to the pcos and hemmorragic cysts that cause scar tissue) so that is a plus. Now its just holding on to it. Hopefully we won't have to resort to having IUI or IVF.

What I find the most upsetting is that I live in a state that does NOT require insurance providers to cover fertility treatments. There are states that do cover them and this makes me so angry, I get sick.

Our insurance pays for everything but the actual procedures such as IVF and IUI. If IUI doesn't work, we'll have to get my dad to co-sign for a medical loan and do the shared risk IVF refund program. It's over $30k, but worth it to have a baby.

My husband and I live in California which does not mandate insurance companies to cover IVF. My health insurance covers 50% of some fertility medications, however they have to be approved first, and the reimbursement process has been difficult. I just completed my first IVF cycle and it cost us (treatment plus medications) $14,000. We had to take out a loan in order to pay for it. We are now in the 2 week waiting period. We had no embryos left over to freeze, so if it doesn't work, I don't know where we will get the money to try a new fresh cycle again. The fact that insurance companies won't pay for female reproductive health, yet they will pay for heart surgery and kidney transfers for people who eat, smoke, and drink themselves almost to death is quite frustrating. I think it reflects a larger gender bias in our health care system.

I'm so glad others are talking about this. I also get physically sick how insurance companies don't cover any ttc treatments. We have spent 6000 this year on failed iuis. My hubby and I worked our asses off saving that money, and hope to have a baby before we run out of money completely. Just not fair.

Knowing that "what we can do" depends a lot on "who has access to what resources" is a tremendous sense of frustration for both patients and providers. It is worthwhile to remember that this isn't just a problem related to infertility or the United States. In addition to being a reproductive endocrinologist, I have also been working in Haiti for the last 18 years and there is no question that fair isn't a word that describes how resources are distributed around the world. People in Haiti die every day from a lack of access to even rudimentary health care. I have seen women who died on the side of the road looking for help and done C-sections without the assistance of an anesthesiologist. In addition to providing basic health care, I have also helped a Haitian MD open an IVF program in Port-au-Prince. You might think that is crazy but we can use issues like these to help us to recognize where we are blessed and what our role we should try to play in the world during our very short stay on the earth. The Haitian people don't complain about what they don't have. It wouldn't do them any good & they don't expect help from anyone. They value the people in their lives and are grateful for the opportunities that they do have. After 250,000 people died in the earthquake, survivors were praising God that they had been given a 2nd chance. From a fertility standpoint, some of us become parents without much effort, others become parents through assisted reproduction, others adopt and some choose to live without children. I have yet to meet a patient in my practice who became a parent by any of these means who didn't feel blessed. The journey is hard sometimes & it isn't fair but sometimes it brings us together and helps us figure out what is most important. If you are unhappy about what insurance companies don't provide, are you doing anything personally to change that. Are you lobbying your congressman? Are you investigating money back programs that allow you to take some of the risk out of the process. Talking with your provider about these issues and getting actively engaged in something that matters to you may not benefit you personally tomorrow but you may be able to improve things for someone else down the road. I know that this may not be a popular response to a feeling of angst and frustration but we have to realize that the we live in a big world and that some things are positioned for our benefit and others are not. We would all be happier if we adopted the Haitian strategy of degaje (pr: day-gah-jay), which means do what you can with what you have where you are or make due. Included in my prayers ever day are the hopes and dreams of my patients. I wish you well in your personal pursuits and your efforts to help others in theirs. Blessings.