Infertility insurance-How to determine your coverage?
Is infertility treatment covered in your health plan? If you do need such treatment, this is the first step for you to take before launching into the treatment proper. Learn to ask proper question to the insurance agent about infertility coverage and know about the cost.
Infertility and pregnancy
# 1: Ask questions. First things first, speak to your agent about your insurance coverage and find out the benefits in it for you. You need to know if your health insurance policy covers you for infertility treatments. If yes, find out to what extent it covers you i.e. are you covered for co-pays, the limits on deductibles and any pre-qualification needs you’re your hospital or clinic may ask for.
# 2: Get all your information in writing: If you have all your necessary information in writing, you can think about what which way you want to proceed. Ask your human resources officer to give you a copy of your insurance document.
# 3: Speak to the insurance company directly: Use the insurance company’s toll free number to get to know about the benefits of your insurance policy. Once again, ask for this in writing.
# 4: Look into what your insurance company can offer you: Now that you know just what your health policy contains, ask your insurance company how they can help you in your special circumstances. Find out to what extent you are liable for infertility insurance benefits, including medication. Perhaps you would like to ask your insurer these questions. Remember to ask for the answers to these in writing.
- Does my insurance policy cover me for diagnostic tests for infertility coverage?
- Does my infertility treatment coverage include the cost of an intrauterine insemination (IUI)?
- If I have to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF), will I be covered under my health policy?
- Am I also covered for all or any of these: sperm injection, frozen embryo transfer, cryopreservation, etc.
- If it does, does my policy expect me to get prior authorization before I go in for these procedures?
# 6: Check out the laws pertaining to your state: The National Infertility Association, 2009, states that there are 15 states in the US whose laws lay down that health insurance companies include infertility procedures in their policies. You can check out the status of your state online by logging on to asrm.org or call the insurance commissioner in your city.
How to finance your infertility treatment: Let us consider the worst case scenario where you are considered ineligible for infertility treatment either because you are older than 40 years, or you don’t have a health policy older than 12 months or that you’ve been suffering with this problem for more than five years.
In such a situation, you will have to bear your own treatment costs. Perhaps you have an insurance plan that does not cover you for diagnosis or treatment for infertility. However, there are ways of financing your own infertility treatment. Here are some of them:
- Once you know that you might have trouble conceiving, start saving for the treatment costs.
- Become a member of a clinical trial or research study. Here, you become part of the experiments researchers conduct in trying to make couples conceive. Any treatment you receive here is free, in fact, they might even pay you to participate in the trial.
- Apply for an Inter-National Council for Infertility Information Dissemination (INCIIDD) IVF scholarship: These scholarships are for couples who need medical aid but are not financially ready for it.
- Move to a state that covers your costs: If your state does not cover you for infertility treatment, move to any of the 15 American states that mandatorily covers you for it.
- Take a loan especially for infertility treatment: Certain financial lenders offer loans for infertility treatment. Prominent among them are the ARC Fertility Program and the IntegraMed America Fertility Network.
- Buy your medication online: If you buy your medicines online, you stand to gain some of the savings that pharma companies pass on to their online customers. This saving will help reduce your overall costs. However, you will have to pay for the medical care and medicines at the prescribed rates.
- Ask your pharma company if you can get your medicines for free or at a lower price? By being a part of a program, this can be possible because such programs are based on your financial situation.
- It’s cheaper in Europe: If in vitro fertilization is your best bet, go to Europe where the treatment costs are much lower.
Buy and Learn The Empty Picture Frame: An Inconceivable Journey Through Infertility
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