While some women are able to conceive naturally without much of a problem, others are unfortunately not quite as lucky. Infertility is a condition that affects a large percentage of women throughout the country, and while some might be able to resort to less drastic measures than others, plenty of women find themselves needing at least a little bit of help in this particular area. The good news is that advances in the world of reproductive treatments have resulted in a fair share of options for women looking to become pregnant. The bad news, however, is that many women are simply unable to pay for such services.
Dr. John Nichols is an infertility specialist at South Carolina’s Piedmont Reproductive Endocrinology Group, P.A. (PREG), a facility that caters to couples facing infertility and reproductive issues, and he understands how financially-draining infertility treatment can be. According to Dr. Nichols, when it comes to reproductive treatments, many insurance companies tend to be extremely stingy. While some companies are certainly better than others, it is somewhat rare to find an insurance company that will offer unlimited testing and treatment for infertility.
In Dr. Nichols’s experience, the more expensive the infertility treatment is, the less likely an insurance company is to cover it. Some insurance companies have a policy of covering the cost of testing only. Others will cover diagnostics and a limited amount of fertility drugs, but won’t chip in a dime towards procedures such as In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Then there are those companies who fall somewhere in the middle – they’ll offer limited coverage for testing, drugs, and IVF, but they won’t cover any single aspect in full. These types of policies can end up being better or worse, depending on the extent of treatment involved. Additionally, while some states have started mandating a degree of infertility coverage, not all states are jumping on board. The result is that a lot of women are forced to make tough decisions when it comes to having a baby.
As someone who deals with matters of infertility on a regular basis, Dr. Nichols agrees that the current financial setup for infertility treatment isn’t ideal. After all, how can a woman be expected to fork over her life’s savings for treatment and then have no money left over to support her child in the event that she actually manages to have one? For this reason, Dr. Nichols likes to offer his patients a variety of options for infertility treatment rather than simply push the most profitable agenda.
For those without decent insurance coverage, the cost differential between hormonal drug therapy and IVF can be extraordinary. However, IVF is also known to be far more successful in enabling conception than the use of drugs alone. Therefore, patients who are forced to bear the brunt of treatment on their own must weigh their options carefully. In some cases, it might actually make more financial sense for a woman to pay for a single round of IVF rather than to spend months, or even years, paying for expensive drugs that are less effective. On the other hand, most fertility experts will agree that as an initial step, it makes sense from a cost and medical perspective for many to go the drug route instead of jumping right into IVF.
It’s an unfortunate fact that far too many women these days are forced to choose between having a baby and facing some dire financial straits. However, until healthcare reforms begin to kick in, there’s really not much to do about the situation other than to write letters to insurance companies, congressmen, and anyone else who will listen to the cries of all of the motherless children who want their babies.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.
