Finding a Fertility Clinic

One of the hardest parts of infertility is being able to afford the testing and treatments. Often those without infertility insurance coverage find that how far they can go with treatment is dictated by how much they can afford. If you do not have a insurance, use these tips to help you choose your fertility clinic.

  • Ask Upfront: Do not be afraid to ask what the fees are for the various fertility services. You have a right to know what you are expected to pay for your fertility treatment. If it is not in your budget, then ask your fertility specialist about other options.
  • Speak Up: Let your doctor know that you do not have insurance assistance. Often a doctor will work with you better knowing this. They might help get some things covered, depending on what your diagnosis is, or they might be quicker to suppliment your fertility drugs with samples they have in the office
  • Shop around: When you are choosing a reproductive endocrinologist, ask them what their fees for some of the treatments cost. Also find out how aggressive they are in treatment. A doctor who wastes little of your time with cycles using clomid is more realistic. And little wasted time means less cycles spent doing low success rate procedures. This in turn means fewer months shelling out funds for mediocre care.
  • Explore: It might be worth taking a paycut to move to a job with a better insurance plan. While your salary might decrease, the cost of out of pocket expenses for infertility due to better coverage will be well worth it.
  • Get Aggressive: If your state doesn\'t have infertility insurance mandates, contact your local Resolve chapter to see what is being done to change this. Many states are actively working to organize a mandate. See where it stands. It might be worth putting off treatment if your state is close to having the laws changed.
  • Medications: There are many pharmacies out there. Don\'t assume you have to go to your local drug store to get your meds. Get quotes from various pharmacies!
  • Grill Your Insurance Company: While they might not cover treatment of infertility, they might cover some other aspects. For example, if your periods are irregular, they might cover medications to help regulate you. If your periods are painful, they might cover a hysterosalpingoram or laparoscopy to help figure out what is causing the problem. Avoid using the word infertility. This helps prevent a red flag on your file.
  • Think Carefully: It sounds attractive but get all the facts first about the guaranteed IVF plans some clinics offer. While financially it might sound great, are clinics transferring more embryos than needed in order to get higher or quicker success rates? Ask! If finances are hard now, long term raising multiples will be even harder. Multiples also present health risks.

 

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