An article in the Washington Post examines whether money-back guarantee programs really reduce financial risk.
They state correctly that infertility treatment is a numbers game in some respects: How many treatments will it take to conceive a child? And how much can you afford?
Even as insurance plans are modestly improving their infertility coverage, clinics most couples still pay out-of-pocket. Because of that fact, fertility clinics are coming up with creative ways to help would-be parents reduce their financial risk for procedures that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Some even offer a money-back guarantee if a patient doesn’t conceive.
A report by the ethics committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine found that shared-risk programs can be acceptable if patients are fully informed about the criteria for success and about program costs, among other things.
Shared-risk and other programs are popular in part because health insurance coverage for infertility treatment, while slowly improving, is still sparse. Fifteen states, not including California, require insurers to cover infertility treatment to varying degrees, according to Resolve, an infertility advocacy group.
Among employers with more than 500 workers, 65 percent cover a specialist evaluation, 41 percent cover drug therapy and 27 percent cover IVF, according to human resources consultant Mercer’s 2013 employer benefits survey. Thirty-two percent of large companies don’t cover infertility services at all.
In addition to shared-risk programs, many fertility clinics offer discounts and financing options.
But select carefully which type of option is right for you. For some using an insurance-type concept like shared risk may work even though you may be paying for more than one cycle and if you get pregnant in that first cycle you will be spending more money than you had to. For others pay as you go might work better but if multiple cycles are needed the costs will increase. Our SUCCESS PROGRAM combines features of both. There is no added cost but you get that third cycle free to maximize your chances of success.
At Reproductive Partners we offer a variety of programs of global rates (discounted), our SUCCESS PROGRAM (if you don’t achieve a 12-week pregnancy in two Global cycles, the third Global cycle is free), the popular shared risk program, Attain(TM), and low-cost financing.