Overwhelmed!

I have my first RE appointment on April 8th Dr. Brenner at LI IVF. They sent me a package to review and fill out before my appointment. It is so overwhelming and I am literally sitting here in tears! I have HIP through NYC DOE as my primary and they only cover my initial visit, nothing else. I have Magnacare as my secondary under my husband and they will cover all testing, but no treatments. So, if we end up having do go the IUI or IVF route, it will all be out of pocket. How do you afford this?? If I am reading this correctly, one cycle with a frozen embryo transfer is $4,425 and doesn't include any of the medicine. Am I right that if the first cycle doesn't take, then it's another $4,425?

Overwhelmed!

I work for the NYC DOE and I have GHI and they cover way more than the initial visit. Can you switch to GHI? Unlimited IUIs are covered with GHI. Good luck.

Re: Overwhelmed!

I think I have to wait until September. I had originally taken HIP bc my obgyn and cardiologist didn't take GHI. Guess that was a mistake!

Re: Overwhelmed!

Let me preface this by saying that I know I'm also jumping 20 steps ahead. I'm assuming it would be several months of other treatments before I had to go for IVF

Re: Overwhelmed!

I have Magnacare as well and they don't cover any treatments or medicine. We paid out of pocket for our IVF. We took out a loan through Springstone which we will be paying off for the next 5 years. We also did insurance through Attain which allowed us up to 2 fresh and 3 frozen cycles until we have a 'take home baby.' We paid about $20,000 for that. The medicine for our first cycle ended up costing about $5,000.

It's sooo expensive and DH and I both had our fair share of anxiety attacks lol but it's a little easier to pay it off in monthly installments then to pay it all up front.

Let me know if you have any questions about the loan or the insurance.

Overwhelmed!

no words of advice other than that infertility is hard enough without the financial stress so its really heartbreaking to have this to deal with as well
feeling overwhelmed is the biggest component of this journey, but ur not alone :)

btw, my RE offie - NYU Fertility - charges around 3,600 for a frozen cycle and 10,500 for live. maybe worth also making apt at other places where the treatments are a bit cheaper. also I think IUI is around 200-300, but not sure.

Overwhelmed!

First off

Yes the paperwork is overwhelming. I really wish all insurance companies would offer IF benefits.

Take it one step at a time. Fill out the paperwork a few a day or as much as you want to handle. Also if you do end up having to go the IVF route there are grants that are given out. I see that you also may be able to change your insurance to get some kind of coverage so that's awesome. One day at at a time

ETA: IUIs are not that expensive...usually a few hundred (well not expensive compared to IVF) What gets pricey are the meds. Do you know your diagnosis? Maybe you can try some holistic approaches until September. Vitamins, accupuncture etc.

Message edited 3/29/2013 5:12:59 PM.

Re: Overwhelmed!

Overwhelmed!

I am a patient at LI IVF and have no fertility coverage. The first treatment course is usually ovulation monitoring cycle with clomid. At LI IVF, each OM cycle is $1200 (including IUI), paid upfront. The clomid is only $9 at target or walmart. Don't jump ahead in your thinking about paying for IVF yet, hopefully you will never need to get there. Maybe try a few clomid cycles if you can afford the fee... but I would definitely switch your coverage in sept. It's only 5/6 months away, which isn't really that long.

Re: Overwhelmed!

First of all sorry you're going through this

Second -- I am employed through NYC DOE and have HIP also. When I saw an RE, I was told by HIP that I had unlimited IUI coverage and paid for nothing. I only went for one visit since I wound up getting pregnant on my 3rd round of Clomid with my OB. You should definitely call HIP and talk to them about your benefits. I didn't have many REs to choose from, but all I needed was a referral from my OB and a referral for each procedure (including all bloodwork) and it would be taken care of. FM me if you have questions!!!!

Good luck!

Re: Overwhelmed!

I used LIIVF and if I understand everything correctly, they have a single embryo program where you pay for 1 IVF cycle and if you agree to only transfer 1 embryo a cycle, that cost will include unlimited IVF until you achieve live birth. Dr. Kreiner talked about it in one of his videos.
Not sure how it works or how to qualify, but definitely worth looking into if need be. The good news is that most women can get preggers with meds or a few IUIs.

Re: Overwhelmed!

Posted by ANR1211

First of all sorry you're going through this

Second -- I am employed through NYC DOE and have HIP also. When I saw an RE, I was told by HIP that I had unlimited IUI coverage and paid for nothing. I only went for one visit since I wound up getting pregnant on my 3rd round of Clomid with my OB. You should definitely call HIP and talk to them about your benefits. I didn't have many REs to choose from, but all I needed was a referral from my OB and a referral for each procedure (including all bloodwork) and it would be taken care of. FM me if you have questions!!!!

Good luck!