what it cost us - literally

Prompted by j at cheese and whine to head to this "blogtavist" post at stirrup queens, I am joining in the gang who is disclosing the financial aspects of infertility and what mandated insurance coverage can do to help.

We have good insurance and we live in a state that mandates infertility coverage. What this meant for us is that we only had to pay for donor sperm. Our RE insisted on 2 vials per cycle, which cost us $450 each plus shipping. So more than a grand each month that we tried. We tried a total of eight times - five on no drugs except progesterone and three on Clomid.

I don't have much to complain about, even considering that expense - it was tax deductible, at least. As were the hundreds spent on donor profiles for the several rounds of donor selection we went through.

All of my office visits and procedures for IUI, monitoring and fertility testing were covered. Even the money spent on co-pays was reimbursed to us out of our tax-free medical savings account. As was the money spent on ovulation predictors and pregnancy tests (when I remembered to save receipts, anyway).

If I had not gotten pregnant after 2 more tries on Clomid (also covered by insurance, as were my progesterone, triggers and boosters), I would have gone on to IVF which would have been fully covered for, I believe, 3 tries. This is thanks to my husband's company's generous infertility coverage - the state mandates coverage but does not apparently specify how much, so even people with the same insurance company may have different coverage based on what the employer specifies (this is my understanding, anyway). If I took insurance from my job the coverage would have been enough for just one IVF. We pay maybe $25-30 a month for me to be on Wes', a decision made almost solely because of my infertility.

My experience of infertility was totally different from so many of my friends because I never had to worry about how or IF I could do something. I had plenty of options and assistance. Everyone deserves the same.

Comments

[Wes]

Just one correction: the "tax-free medical savings account" is actually our moneytaken from my pay check pre-taxes so it is sort of reimbursed but it's reimbursed by our own money. It's just that we don't have to pay taxes on that money. Which still makes it a very good thing.

[eggdropblogger]

Wow! I did not realize that I can deduct all of my fertility costs. I love you! I failed to get a flexible spending account last year, but I am getting it together for 2008. My insurance covers everything up to IVF! Hopefully, I won't have to contemplate that expense. Thanks for sharing!

[eggdropblogger]

Wow! I did not realize that I can deduct all of my fertility costs. I love you! I failed to get a flexible spending account last year, but I am getting it together for 2008. My insurance covers everything up to IVF! Hopefully, I won't have to contemplate that expense. Thanks for sharing!

[Becky]

I completely agree.

[lagiulia]

I agree too.
In a way we didn't pay a lot out of pocket for IF stuff. My surgeries were health necessities because I have endometriosis. The RE was covered by insurance. On the other hand, we did switch from an insurance plan that was free to us to an insurance plan where we paid 150+ per bimonthly pay check, because it covered many infertility treatments including 3 IVFs. The free plan did not cover any infertility stuff at all (at least at that time). So it has added up to quite a bit of money. As an aside, these days we debate going back to a cheaper plan but are kind of scared to do that in light of all the medical services the boys have needed. We don't want the "why pay more" brand of medical care for them, you know? I know we're lucky to have insurance, but damn is it still expensive.