Financing Fertility Treatments

Fertility Treatment Costs

There is no way to estimate the costs of financing fertility treatments for any one person or couple. It depends on the health of the person or couple interested in fertility treatments, the reasons for infertility, type of treatment, how long until a treatment is successful, the clinic, and much more.

To get the best idea of your personal treatment costs, you’ll need to speak with your health care provider and contact fertility clinics. To get a general idea of costs visit the following resources:

• Cost of In Vitro Fertilization
• Estimated Cost for Fertility Treatment Cycles
• Costs of a fertility clinic
• New York Daily News Examines Fertility Treatment Costs

Will Health Care Insurance Cover Fertility Treatments?

The American Pregnancy Association (APA) points out that your insurance coverage will depend on various factors, such as where you live, the type of insurance plan you have, and state laws. For example, the APA notes that fourteen states currently “Have laws that require insurers to either cover or offer to cover some form of infertility diagnosis and treatment.” The following states have these laws in place - Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and West Virginia.

If you’re wondering if your insurance will help cover some of the costs, the best thing to do is speak with an insurance representative. If you get a fuzzy feeling from the insurance rep, you can also contact your state's Insurance Commissioner's office and they can help you sort out the official laws.

Learn more about insurance funding for fertility treatments.

Other Options for Financing Fertility Treatments

You may have other options besides insurance when it comes to covering fertility treatment costs – some options are much better than others.

Paying Out of Pocket

Great for: People with spare cash.

Bad for: Well, people with very little or no spare cash.

Many people attempt to pay out of pocket using savings, credit cards, home mortgages, and borrowing from family members. This can be a smart solution if costs stay low; say, only one round of IVF: In Vitro Fertilization is needed. However, most of the time, more than one series of treatments are required and costs quickly add up. In this case, the costs can break a family. You could lose your home, car, and add massive stress to your relationship. Unless you can truly afford it, you need to consider your future as well as your desire for children. Also consider that if you do become pregnant, you’ll want to have the funds to provide for your baby.

If you decide that out of pocket is the only way, try to aim for funds that have no or low interest attached to them. A loan from a flexible employee spending account or borrowing a small amount from your 4O1K may work.

Short Term Financing

Short term financing can work well for people who need financing but can’t afford high monthly paybacks. The negatives include huge interest rates, but you’ll have a long time to pay them off. It’s not the worst option out there. For example, even with the high interest rates, short term financing is much better than selling your home, your car, or having to rack up the bill on various credit cards.

Three examples of short term financing for fertility treatments include:

1. Health care loans such as the ones offered by Capital One Healthcare Finance. Capital One makes it very easy on you. They offer online applications with fast decision and provide loan amounts from $1,500 to $40,000 that you can use to pay for Clomid, PCOS treatment, IVF, IUI, ICSI, surgery, tubal ligation reversals, and donor eggs. They also offer flexible APR rates and payment terms that can range from 18 months to seven years. Basically you can create a custom plan.
2. Your clinic may be able to offer short or even long-term payment plans for treatment, with flexible terms. You’ll need to discuss this with your individual clinic.
3. If you have a very low interest credit card with plenty of funds available, it’s a viable financing option. Just make sure you really have rates that are low enough so you’ll be able to afford the monthly payments.

Learn more about specific infertility financing programs.

Other Options for Financing

• Home equity loans – but be careful here. Your home is a valuable asset and you don’t want to lose it or lack funds to pay for necessary repairs.
• If you’re financing fertility treatments at all, you need to make an appointment with your tax attorney who can figure out how much you can deduct. Normally it’s the smaller costs involved that are deductible, but added up, that could be a lot.

For some excellent information on your financing decisions read; Creating a Financial Plan.