https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 25 May 2026 19:33:33 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2532644 Fri, 22 Apr 2016 23:47:03 +0000 gingerbebe 2532644@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I live in Northern California and I'm a Kaiser member. Kaiser has its own RE center and its $9000 per straight IVF cycle (not including any special stuff like ICSI), plus the cost of meds. </p> <p>Technically I was supposed to pay for like every lab and ultrasound too, but they covered as much of the testing and labs and ultrasounds as they could bill under my regular health coverage, so that didn't end up costing us very much. I guess that's pretty common around here - lots of the RE clinics ask your OBGYN to order what they can under the patient's normal coverage and then have the results and records transferred over to the RE clinic to save money for the patient. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2532486 Fri, 22 Apr 2016 17:37:14 +0000 BSB 2532486@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh, my 6 IUIs cost between $800-$1100 each. More or less depending upon the clinic. I did have to pay $400 for cryropreservation each cycle and I was only on femera for meds which was covered by my prescription insurance. </p> <p>My second clinic had a 3 IUI package. I think it was $2400 or $2100. It didn't include the cryopreservation or the meds. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2532402 Fri, 22 Apr 2016 15:17:43 +0000 NorthStar 2532402@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did 3 IUI's last summer and each IUI was probably close to $2K. I know that I had to do 2-3 ultrasounds/bloodwork each round and each of those were close to $500. The IUI itself was just under $300. We chose to move onto IVF because the success rates of IUI's really are not that much better than trying naturally and IVF gives such a better shot at pregnancy.</p> <p>For our IVF, we purchased into the Attain program, which was offered by our RE. It's 3 fresh and up to 3 frozen cycles (there are some terms) within 36 months. If there is no take home baby, then we get our money back in full, except for meds. The cost of the program was around $25,000, but did not include meds and I was 34 when I entered into it. Our meds for IVF round #1 were close to $3K, I think. fresh round #2 were only $1,400 because I received donated meds from two different ladies (worth at least $2,500). My meds that round would have costed more because I was on higher dosages due to not responding well during round #1. Cycle #2 didn't work, so we will be doing a FET at the end of May. My meds for the FET were $650, but I had leftover progesterone suppositories, so I didn't have to buy those, which would have been an additional $500. It seriously all adds up..</p> <p>Based upon what I paid for IUI's, I feel like the price you were quoted seems reasonable. It's mainly the ultrasounds that really cause the price to go up. For meds, definitely check out Freedom Pharmacy or Winfertility. They both have great pricing on meds, depending upon what you are buying. </p> <p>As far as IVF, I would definitely look at the SART data. Although you can find cheaper clinics, are their success rates any good? If not, you will end up spending more in the long run. I also think that you can get meds much cheaper than what you were quoted. Many women just use the pharmacy their RE tells them to without researching, so they pay that. If you spend the time and even split your meds order to where you can get each cheapest (i.e., follistim and ganirelix at Winfertility, menopur and others at Freedom), you can save a few thousand. It is a pain, but well worth the effort. For my lastest fresh IVF med order, I had my meds split between two pharmacies to get the best overall pricing. There might be shared risk programs that you could qualify for, but I also don't remember the requirements of mine. </p> <p>As far as paying for IUIs and IVF: for the IUI's, we used our health savings account, so it didn't have a huge impact on our day to day finances. But, then we couldn't claim those as medical expenses on our tax return. for the IVF, we took out 1/2 the fee from our savings and the remaining, we put on a 0% 18 month credit card. We have until Feb 2017 to pay it off and have about $5K left. We should be able to easily pay it off by September or October, so I see it as an interest free loan.</p> <p>I totally get the confusing thoughts and unknowns regarding what to do. Feel free to keep posting and looking for support. We are all in this together :heart: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2530640 Thu, 21 Apr 2016 10:06:07 +0000 anonysquire 2530640@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We looked at our local clinics and was quoted about half of what we will pay for an out of town clinic. But we like their success rate/refund policy so we chose them!! I hope they don't add any extras but they did warn us that medications could be like $2000 and other things like that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2530576 Thu, 21 Apr 2016 09:22:58 +0000 Ajsmommy 2530576@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@dc yoga bee: So far I haven't felt like a number but I am def considering looking into switching RE's if I can find more affordable IVF. Of course I am praying one of these next two IUI's works though... but if not.... (I messaged you on your wall)</p> <p>@misolee: luckily DH and I haven't fought too much about it. Although I am the one pushing us to do it. He would be fine with our family now.. and sometimes I feel like I should be too but I never imagined not giving DD a sibling and for some reason it's so so hard to give that dream/image up! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2530361 Thu, 21 Apr 2016 07:54:16 +0000 misolee 2530361@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm commiserating with you too. </p> <p>We went to a RE and found out everything was out of pocket too when it came to doing our IUI. Other initial consultations and checks could be billed as a specialist visits including all the tests that were run to see what was causing the infertility. But the actual IUI process was out of pocket. We had to pay for each monitoring visit which was around $200 and that includes blood checks and ultrasounds. I ended up going around 6-7 times so $1200-1400. Then we did two IUI procedures (back to back) and it was $600 each so $1200. Total spent was close to $2400. Luckily, our insurance has good medication coverage so the medicine was $75 a vial and I only needed two. </p> <p>My husband and I fought a lot about this. He didn't think we needed to spend all this money. We already had an older child. He basically told me that if the IUI didn't work, we were done. He didn't want to spend any more on another cycle nor even think about the atrocious amount of IVF. I was incredibly stressed and upset during the whole process. Lots of tears and prayers involved. Luckily, the first IUI took. I don't even want to think what would have happened if it didn't. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2530329 Thu, 21 Apr 2016 07:26:24 +0000 dc yoga bee 2530329@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm sorry you are going through this. I did not go to the big game in town Shady Grove, but went to a RE recommended by my chiropractor. I didn't research a lot about her success rates, honestly I got a good vibe from her, I didn't feel like a number (which I heard about shady grove), and the pricing was way more reasonable. Northern Virgina suburbs, and IUI was $750 including monitoring (not sure if it covered meds), and each ivf cycle would've been $3-$4K. Insurance covered all testing, but no treatment. We were prepared to do clomid and IUI only up to 3 cycles. I think if it came to it we would've sprung for ivf and I say sprung because we were still just starting out after grad school and I have tons of law school loans. Luckily, I found out I was pregnant the night before we were going to start fertility treatments (clomid for my ovulation/ PCOS and then IUI.) We are gearing up for #2, and plan to see her again if it comes to it. again, I'm sorry you're going through this, and I would really focus on being somewhere you are comfortable and completely trust your doctor. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2530319 Thu, 21 Apr 2016 07:08:55 +0000 Ajsmommy 2530319@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Amorini: thanks for the insight.. And I 100% agree with the "extras" just popping up! We just got a bill and it shows we owe $400 for the first insemination from my IUI last cycle BUT we were under the impression it was covered under the global fee... ughhh... hello billing dept, what is going on, this shouldn't be billed to me again. SMH. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529983 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 15:36:37 +0000 Amorini 2529983@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ajsmommy: Yeah, I can commiserate on age. At age 39 (when I started), no one was going to offer a guaranteed plan with the statistical decreased success rates .... but it did work the first time for me/us. </p> <p>Two fresh cycles and two frozen cycles were included in our plan. So I guess that is four cycles, but really the major effort and costs on the clinic's end is the fresh cycle and getting the embies all isci-ed and monitored and grown in the lab. So if you are only offered two fresh cycles for $18,600 (or whatever other quotes you get), I'd ask what a FET would cost.</p> <p>Also, no matter where you go, make sure you understand what diagnostics your RE are going to want to re-do at the start of each cycle so you can factor that into the total potential cost. I had a surprise whooping $800 saline sonogram that I had to re-do just because I had a freeze-all and had to do a FET. I know it might sound crazy to be upset about $800 after paying $18,600 plus but it made us really upset that we had already paid our clinic so much for a "plan" and they didn't go out of their way to point out that some really expensive procedures might not be covered in between cycles... And, I mean, shouldn't you just pay $18,600 and be done with necessary extras already?! But that is the way it works...</p> <p>I would concur that overseas meds (and treatments, so I have also heard) are substantially cheaper. The only catch is that, if you live in the US, you can't itemize those medical expenses on your taxes... however I think you'd end up still paying a lot less with overseas meds and treatment overall to justify a loss of a potential tax refund. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529961 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 15:20:16 +0000 Ajsmommy 2529961@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PurplePumps: wow!!! That's so interesting! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529938 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 14:55:09 +0000 PurplePumps 2529938@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ajsmommy: That is one of the great things about being in Boston. There are a ton of top notch clinics in the state and with in driving distance that I think the competition helps keep cost lower. A lot of ladies on the Resolve boards talk about cycling overseas also. It's only 2-3k for IVF cycle in Czech! You could go over there cycle, and have a great little vacation for the price of a cycle here! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529904 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 14:35:02 +0000 agold 2529904@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ajsmommy: Everyone has different feelings about how they want to proceed. And its probably great to shop around and look at the different costs. I really can't imagine how much different each clinic can be from one another when it comes down to a general IVF. (aside from fluffy offices and customer services and stuff, but seriously.. who needs that at the end of the day?) So if you can get a deal at another reputable clinic, then go for it. Ask about discounts, too, for jobs or whatever. And really ask for a break down of the cost that was quoted to you. Maybe that was an all-the-bells-and-whistles IVF.</p> <p>ETA: as for jumping to IVF after two IUIs.. here's what i considered in a nutshell: (1) I looked at doing a third IUI as a gamble since there wasn't going to be any different between the first two and then a third IUI for me; (2) I'm not really a debt-adverse person, having already financed everything in my life, i.e., cars, college, house.. i wasn't going to draw the line in the sand at my chance to have a baby; and mostly (3) I was extremely ready to close the TTC chapter of my life and to move on - without or without a baby. I found TTC for so long to be exhausting and sad. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529884 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 14:24:42 +0000 Ajsmommy 2529884@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@agold: it's weird b/c we are almost willing to do more IUI's as opposed to jumping to IVF. I really think the $$$ the dr threw out really turned us off. I think I am really going to try to look into a few other clinics just to see. We are cd3 of our 2nd IUI today so we'll go through with this one and I have approx. 27 days to gather info and talk to other clinics! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529758 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 12:26:33 +0000 agold 2529758@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ugh. The cost of all of this really does suck. </p> <p>I paid just about $2,200 for each of the two IUI cycles I did. All out of pocket and that's why I stopped at two. </p> <p>I paid approximately $15,100 for my egg retrieval, medications, icsi, assisted hatch and fresh embryo transfer. Some meds were oddly covered by insurance as were some tests. I don't know how much it saved me. Maybe $1000 or less. </p> <p>A subsequent "mock cycle" was $1,250. And the FET was $2,700. </p> <p>Somehow I ended up spending close to $25,000 for all fertility stuff in 2015. Totally sucks. We paid out of pocket using Christmas bonus, tax return, a little from my mom, and then put the rest on an AMEX. I'm 22 weeks pregnant now and still have $3k left to pay off. </p> <p>All worth it and I'm ready to run the gauntlet again for baby #2. </p> <p>Husband wanted to wait to save up for IVF and I said no way Jose. I won't be waiting for #2 either. But I was like you and wondered how people continue to do cycle after cycle. I think it just depends on your financial situation, unfortunately. I stopped at 2 IUIs because of money. I would have probably done a second fresh IVF cycle if the first didn't work but I would have stopped there. For baby #2, we will do one IVF cycle only. The money sucks and the IVF cycle itself is exhausting. When I first met with my RE he also told me IVF would be $20K and I nearly passed out on the way home. But when I broke it down, the costs seemed more manageable. Your doctor might be suggesting like the grand daddy of all cycles. So break it down and see. But good luck to you!!! I hope you are able to do all that you want and that you get your baby! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529755 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 12:24:43 +0000 BSB 2529755@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ajsmommy: I have DOR but I do think your age might not qualify you for the guaranteed package. I would ask around, though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529750 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 12:22:21 +0000 Ajsmommy 2529750@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Amorini: I was not offered any guarantee program but I suspect that could be due to my age or DOR?? the only thing the dr said that seemed like a "break" was that we could do two rounds for $18500 but then there'd be the meds on top of that for both cycles.... was your multiple cycle plan for FOUR cycles? </p> <p>@PurplePumps: They've actually told me I am a good responder thus far. and that price (7900 and 8900) is amazing.. I honestly think if we were quoted that price we would be on board! Maybe I should move to your town for a bit :wink: </p> <p>@bluestriped bee: I'm pretty sure with my status, DOR and 39 yrs old that no clinic would give me a money back option. Which honestly I am fine with. I am now thinking I will shop around other clinics to see about IVF costs. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529556 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 10:09:44 +0000 BSB 2529556@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would consider shopping around, too. We didn't shop around because I switched clinics to one that apparently was known to have better success for people who had trouble at other clinics. So since I was under 30, it cost me about $14-15K plus meds for one complete IVF cycle. We took a risk at only paying one. My clinic did have a IVF guarantee program that they give you as many cycles within a year or you got your money back. That started at $29K. </p> <p>We have no IF coverage other than diagnostics tests so we were pretty much out of pocket. We, fortunately, had investments that we could sell to pay for IVF. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529537 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 09:55:18 +0000 Amorini 2529537@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>First of all, sorry you are going through this. IF sucks and the $ part is probably one of the worst parts of it all.</p> <p>Does your clinic offer any IVF guarantee programs? Like you pay for a few rounds, but if you don't get pregnant, you get money back? I was not offered a program like that, but other girls here have done them. Not sure if my clinic even offered them, but my age alone would have disqualified me in any case.</p> <p>We paid for...<br /> multiple cycle plan (2 fresh, 2 frozen w/icsi) = $18,600<br /> separate monitoring due to location from clinic (1 fresh, 1 frozen) = $~2000-3000<br /> anesthesia = $400<br /> diagnostics = $~2000<br /> total meds (1 fresh, 1 frozen) = ~$5000</p> <p>I had a freeze-all due to OHSS and then got pregnant on the first FET. If we had needed another round, I estimate we would have paid another $7-8000 of diagnostics, monitoring and meds. In the end, it doesn't seem much different from what you're clinic charges. It sucks -- it was all out of pocket for us.</p> <p>On top of these charges, I paid about $4000 for acupuncture treatments throughout it all for about 5-6 months. (I still go but I'm not counting that!)</p> <p>IF and fertility treatment is full of decision points unlike anything else in life, so it's hard to know how other people justify the money or emotional effort. We are each left to do what works for our own situations. Our mindset was that we wanted to give IVF our best effort and have no regrets. The multiple cycle plan gave us a little more confidence going into it that we were committed to trying a couple times before re-analyzing it all financially, emotionally, etc. In our own situation, it was a bizarre situation that left us able to pay for IVF. We had just sold our condo that we owned outright and were resigned to rent after a purchase of our new house totally and dramatically fell apart. Good thing it did because it gave us money in the bank and we were in a position to pay for IVF. Literally had it happened at any other time in our life, we wouldn't have been able to do IVF without a bank loan...</p> <p>Really hoping that you get to a place of peace about the next steps! These are hard things to mull through. :heart: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529508 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 09:40:58 +0000 PurplePumps 2529508@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That sounds like a lot. The two clinics I've cycled at have a cash price of 7900 and 8900 with icsi included. My meds were about 4k per cycle. 6-8k sounds really high unless you're a poor responder that needs really high doses. There is overseas pharmacy that is half the price of any US pharmacy too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529501 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 09:34:27 +0000 Ajsmommy 2529501@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Shantuck: Thank you for the links!! I will definitely check them out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529495 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 09:28:51 +0000 mrs.shinerbock 2529495@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our IUIs were $600 each round, not including medicines. Insurance covered the testing to determine the cause of IF, but none of the treatment, so the cost of IUI was all OOP. </p> <p>So that seems a bit high to means would shop around before proceeding to IVF. But I also probably wouldn't pick a clinic soley based on cost. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529492 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 09:26:46 +0000 Shantuck 2529492@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I know you are looking more for cost related info but I just wanted to make sure you knew about the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (<a href="http://www.sart.org/" rel="nofollow">http://www.sart.org/</a>). This actually has success rate information for participating clinics in your area (though all in my area seem to participate). We used this when deciding whether to make a switch to a different clinic. Some will warn that the data cannot tell the whole picture because there are clinics who will turn people away that they think won't help their success rates. However, it is a good starting point when doing research about clinics.</p> <p>Here is the treatment cost information for the clinic that I was going to in case that helps as a reference point. It is fairly detailed. <a href="http://www.advancedfertility.com/fertility-treatment-costs.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.advancedfertility.com/fertility-treatment-costs.htm</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529470 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 09:09:00 +0000 Mrs Green Grass 2529470@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>that does sound a bit high...I would shop before deciding on ivf. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529439 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 08:50:05 +0000 Ajsmommy 2529439@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@erinbaderin: so far I've been pretty good about writing off the "lost" money bc I feel like there's no price on having a baby </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529414 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 08:34:07 +0000 Ajsmommy 2529414@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Madison43: thanks I'll check it out! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529345 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 07:58:49 +0000 Madison43 2529345@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm in NYC and went to NYU for IVF....I just checked their prices in case things had changed from my fresh cycle bc that seemed expensive to me. A fresh cycle is $12,600 plus the cost of meds, which will vary of course based on your body's response. I think i ended up spending $3k on meds because I was a super responder. Of course that price increases if you add ICSI or other stuff it can be more expensive. If your interested, all of NYU's prices are posted on their website under financial info. It could be a good point of reference for you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529338 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 07:54:36 +0000 erinbaderin 2529338@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just because you're at one clinic now doesn't mean you can't look around at other places and costs - you can switch! I'm Canadian so my costs don't help you much, because some of mine is covered by health care and my work insurance covered 80% of my meds. IUIs cost me about $1000 each. My first IVF cost about $10,000 plus meds (I think we paid about $1000 out of pocket for meds) and my second was more like $13,000 - we switched clinics to go to a doctor whose protocols we felt more confident about.</p> <p>We were lucky that we had the money - we also spent 5 years trying to get pregnant, so early on we started an account that we called the IVF account and put money in it every month. In terms of unsuccessful procedures (we did 8 IUIs and 2 IVFs) I found we had to just write off the money and not think about it. Figure out how much you can put into it and how far you're willing to go, and try not to think about the lost money, it's too much added stress. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-we-talk-fertility-treatment-costs#post-2529330 Wed, 20 Apr 2016 07:45:25 +0000 Ajsmommy 2529330@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I know this should probably be gold, but since I'm not a gold member that would do me no good :silly: </p> <p>We entered the infertility world in December and it's been a wild ride since then. Looking back I am wondering if we should have gone about it differently. We had our first apt on cd4 so when they said we could start on cd5 THE VERY NEXT day we did it. Bc after all my age is a factor and waiting any longer didn't seem like an option... However, now that we are 5 months in and still no BFP I am wondering if we've made a mistake. Maybe we should have shopped around more? Maybe I should have done more research... I know, I know... you should always research this kind of stuff. But the clinic I am working with was recommended by my OB and it's very well known in the area and has good success rates. I also know that sometimes you pay more for better care/higher success rates.</p> <p>I do feel though that when I read about fertility treatment that sometimes I feel like we paid and are paying more... and when they gave me the projected cost for IVF I was floored and saddened that we just can't afford it. So I'm wondering if the costs of my clinic are just more or if I am just naïve bc the expense shocks me......</p> <p>We are in our 2nd IUI. The cost is $1600 global fee, this includes all monitoring and ultrasound appts. The meds are approx. $650 on top of that so $2250 per IUI cycle.</p> <p>When they gave us the breakdown for IVF it was $15k-$18k per round plus $6k-$8k for meds. Or $21k-$28k. They did say we could do two rounds for $18k plus meds for each cycle ($12k-$16k) so that would be $30k-$34k. We just can't do that. We have no insurance coverage for this so it would be all out of pocket. How do people do IVF? How do they do round after round? I sincerely give everyone who can do it soooo much credit!!! The emotions, the money and the whole uncertainty are overwhelming to say the least! </p> <p>I'm not sure really what I'm looking for, maybe just some commiseration? Or maybe others to say, yeah, that's exactly my story... or maybe woah.. that's crazy, go to a different clinic asap!!! </p> <p>Hoping some of my fellow fertility challenged mama's respond. </p>