What to Know about Fertility Treatment

Seeking fertility treatment can be daunting, and there’s a lot of misinformation about the process. Here are 4 of the most important truths about fertility treatment. They’re rarely talked about, but definitely worth your consideration before you start your journey:

Having health insurance does not mean you have infertility insurance.

Even if you have health coverage, don’t expect to have coverage for any or all infertility-related tests and procedures. Only 15 states mandate some level of coverage for infertility (see the list here). If you live in any of the other 35 states, your coverage may depend on the company that you work for. These days more and more of Fortune 500 companies offer their employees some level of infertility coverage. Now is the time to dig into the fine print. Speak to to your health insurance provider about exactly is covered.

The ‘Lifetime Infertility Services Maximum’ is real.

A Lifetime Infertility Services Maximum is the maximum your insurance company will pay for any and all infertility-related treatment. So even if your blood work, ultrasounds and office visits were initially covered–they won’t be once you hit the limit. Some insurance companies cap this around $10,000 - $15,000. It’s very rare to have no lifetime maximum for infertility, so read the fine print and talk to someone at your insurance company who can help you understand your lifetime maximum and how it works.

Infertility drugs are prohibitively expensive.

Some drugs are covered by insurance, but many are not. As such, it’s worth shopping around for the drugs you need. Your corner pharmacy may have them in stock, but what’s more important is finding the right price (perhaps a package deal) at the right pharmacy. The right pharmacy is one that can provide reliability and overnight delivery. Trust us—you do not want to be mid-treatment cycle and run out of drugs with no good way to get more quickly.

Not all fertility clinics are created equal.

SART does an excellent job of reporting the success rates on fertility clinics. Fertility treatment is expensive and time-consuming, and you owe it yourself to do your research and pick the best clinic for you.