IVF Costs - All those 'extras' really add up!

Just had an IVF consult with my RE, and he gave me a letter from the billing department that outlines our costs. We have really wonderful insurance now, so I am not complaining, but all the cryopreservation fees really add up!

The embryo storage was $1,500. Don't know how long that covers you, I will need to call the billing department to find out. Does anyone know if it is a full 1 year?

And then the cryopreservation, processing, and thawing for the 'just in case' sperm sample came out to $850.

They also estimated our copay total to be $360. Not sure how they came up with that number, as our copay is $35. But I guess that's a reasonable estimate. I did think that when you just went in for a blood test though that you don't get charged.

Can anyone else share how much these things cost at their center? If you don't want to post, but would like to let me know please FM me!!!

TIA!!

ETA: Does everyone do the 'just in case' sperm sample/freezing/etc.?

Message edited 4/23/2010 10:10:32 AM.

Re: IVF Costs - All those 'extras' really add up!

The extras do add up. I am not so lucky to have ins pay for ivf for me. I had to apply for a grant. I received my co-pay yesterday for this last cycle. I have to pay $3000 for the co-pay and $630 for assisted hatching(not covered by grant). But it does include one year of cryo for any embryos that make it to the freezing stage. On top of that, i have co-pays on my drugs which are not ordered yet. (my ins covers the drugs). Last cycle i paid $277 for starters on the meds and then $10 more for one prescription and $70 more for another.
When i meet with the re, i still have a $50 specialist co-pay.

Hope this helps.

Re: IVF Costs - All those 'extras' really add up!

My IVF cycle was "fully covered." That being said, I had to pay $1155 to freeze the remaining embryos. That includes the first year of storage for "free." After that, I think it's like $600 a year for storage. My co-pay is $20 but I had to pay a few hundred to the dr's office and I think $250 in co-pays for the meds.

Keep track of all of your medical expenses. Mine came to more than 7.5% of my adjusted gross income so I wrote it all of in my taxes. (Even mileage, transportation, pregnancy tests count toward the 7.5% so keep detailed records!)

Re: IVF Costs - All those 'extras' really add up!

Yes I agree. There are a lot of incremental costs! My insurance paid for my first IVF cycle, we paid around $300 out of pocket for all our meds. We didn't have any embies to freeze but I'm sure that would've been out of pocket too.

Re: IVF Costs - All those 'extras' really add up!

Thanks for the information everyone! Our IVF is also 'fully covered', so these fees definitely took us by surprise.

Does everyone do the 'just in case' sperm sample/freezing/etc.?

Re: IVF Costs - All those 'extras' really add up!

No, we opted for fresh since DH has low sperm and we wanted the highest count possible.. even with ICSI