cost??

dreamsabc123

Hi,
I'm wondering if anyone can tell me about how much I can expect to pay for each cycle. I live in ma and have health new england for services. However, because I'm chosing to do this to be a mom because I haven't found mr. Right, I doubt that my insurance will cover any of this. I want to use two doses of donor sperm with chlomid with a trigger for my best shot of conceiving right away. I also will need to get the initial testing, monitoring and I want to use ultrasounds. I'm trying to figure out how much money I need to have saved up before starting this. I'm hoping to start trying next sept. Thanks and lots of baby dust to everyone!!!

toolmaker

Hi dreamsabc123

I live in Canada so the cost of things up here will be different but I'm looking at about $1100 (one vial, prep and shipping) for each IUI attempt. There's the cost of seeing a nurse before hand which is around $300 (initial appointment). And depending on if you want storage and that's around $250 per year (some places have discounts for more years of storage). That's as far as I've gotten in my search. If I think of anything else I'll let you know. I hope that helps.

dreamsabc123

Thank you!

maria2

When I did my IUIs with Clomid...I would guess the following:

$240 = HSG test

$5 = for prescription of Clomid
$10 = per office visits/ultrasounds (had multiple office visits -- like 6 visits, so it can add up)
$314 = IUI procedure
$700??? = sperm and shipping cost (depends on how much vials cost)

But every insurance is different....even though I'm single and trying by myself, my insurance covered all the office visits except IUI procedure (labwork was free b/c I went with my normal lab instead of my RE's lab)....although now that I have moved to injectables, that is NOT covered...so that cost me about $1329 just for meds!!! ugh....

good luck!

dreamsabc123

Yikes!!! That's crazy expensive!! Thanks for sharing and good luck to you!

hopefulchar

Here is the breakdown of the costs of the insured with no benefits

1800 for all the initial testing (your will most likely be covered)
700 sperm and shipment
295 for the iui
18 for the clomid
40 for the ovulation prediction kit
90 bloodwork
295 vaginal ultrasound

Injectables and a trigger is a whole different ballgame but you will defiantly not start with that so there is no need to even go there.

Good luck and happy holidays.

robin

Dreams,
Just b/c you are a single mom trying to conceive doesnot mean that your insurance will not cover any of it. Check into it. Sometimes the testing and diagnostics are covered. They were for me. i just had to pay for sperm and then the iui's. I of course had to pay for my deductible and copays until my whole deductible was met but after that.... no cost. i know I have great insurance but just wanted to let you know I am a SMBC and did not have to pay for everything. Don't get me wrong the sperm and iui's were costly about 700 for sperm and 200 for shipping cost and than 350 for the iui for a back to back it was a total of 550 and then about 1600 for sperm and shipping. I am happy to say I am now 12 weeks 4 days pregnant and baby is doing just great! I move to my OB/GYN next week!

Robin

dreamsabc123

Why is the clomid and injectables a whole other thing? I'm hoping next year when I start this that I could start like that to have an even higher chance of conceiving. I also want to do back to back insemination with donor sperm in one cycle. Is that something that is common. I don't have a lot of money, but I really want to be a mom. I was hoping to do everything to increase the chances of it working.

dreamsabc123

Robin, that's great news!!! Congrats!!! If you don't mind me asking, about each month how much did you have to pay out of pocket yourself all together and how many tries did it take you? Also, do you have any great insightful advice to share? Thanks!!

dreamsabc123

So I'm freaking out a little bit right now. I made an initial consultation appointment with a fertility clinic in my area for feb 23. The women on the phone seemed irritated when I told her I was doing this because I'm single and haven't found the right guy yet. She said my insurance may not even cover the consultation visit and that visit is between $650 and $1800. She also made it seem like most single women without fertility issues don't go this route and this is rare. If my insurance doesn't cover the first visit which is only fourty minutes long then I need to pay at least 650 that day!!!!

jl2011

If she made you feel that way I would recommend reporting that and possibly trying another doctor. There are plenty of single women that haven't found "Mr. Right" and are young with no known fertility issues. There are plenty on this site and I am one of them. Do not let her make you feel uncomfortable. This is YOUR decision. Just because you are choosing to go a different route than others doesn't make your decision wrong. I think it should be respected that we chose this route and didn't do as other women have done and just go out and meet a random guy and get knocked up. Lord knows we learn a lot through this process and pretty much know when we ovulate and it would be so much easier to just go do that...we'd save a lot more money. But, I do think this is the right way for me...I could never just try to make a baby with a random guy no matter how bad I wanted to be a mom.
Are there any other fertility doctors in your area?

dreamsabc123

I completly agree! That's why I was stunned by her attitude! I decided to move on and get past her and her attitude because I really want this. Sometimes listening to this I think I should just go to a bar and my friebds laugh about it and say they will take me out. It would be so much easier!! However, I'm just not that kind of person to do that either. Unfortantly there isnt any other fertility clinics in my area. There is a good one in Boston, but Boston is very far from me. I think I'll just suck it up and deal with the attitude and maybe pay ALL of this myself. I just don't know how i'll ever afford it, but I'm coming to accept that I might have to and I'm trying to stay positive. I really wanted to start in Sept next year, but if I have to pay for all of it myself maybe it will be a little longer then next sept? Either way, I'm still going to do it ) I'm still going to that first appointment in Feb too. By then I should be able to afford that appointment and at least I only have to pay for that once. I'll also feel good that I'm starting to get more clear answers by then.

jl2011

I have done four. I had to pay for EVERYTHING out of pocket. It really runs about $1100 plus the cost of the sperm. So, around $1500-$1700 total. But, my doctor's office did bill me for the ultrasounds (two per cycle at $225 per ultrasound). So, that was $450 I just got billed for and didn't have to pay up front at the doctor's office. I just took one month at a time and would take breaks between if I needed to save up a little more. It really isn't that bad once you get into it.

I am not understanding why it cost so much for your first visit??? My first visit was just a consultation and he got my history and we discussed options. It cost me $100. From there I had to go see a psychiatrist 3 times - once for an hour to discuss why I was going this route and my personal life to see if I was fit, second time to take some sort of personality test, and the third time was to get the results from the test from the psychiatrist. That was about $200 per visit. I don't know if that is just in my state that it is a requirement to get a "pass" or "fail" from a psychiatrist before you can try to have a child on your own or what. But, I guess it is a good thing to make sure you aren't trying to be the next octomom.

I haven't had another IUI since early November. I am thinking about trying again early next year. Just know that at times it can be a little uncomfortable when trying alone. As long as you are ok with your decision nobody else's opinion matters. My last IUI was done by a doctor that was just standing in for my doctor while he was out of town on vacation. She was a female so I thought for sure it wouldn't be that bad. It was terrible. After the IUI she asked me if my husband was out of town!!! I died. I said no I am single and she totally looked puzzled and then said how sorry she was.

Anyway...Merry Christmas!

dreamsabc123

JL,
Thanks for your post. I didn't know anything about seeing a psychiatrist. Does anyone else know if this is required or not? I wouldn't mind, but three visits? That's another 600 on top of the 2,000 just to talk asbout my options, before I even start trying! They did have me meet with a social worker already. She asked why I was doing this, my support center, my health, my income, my plans, how I would pick a donor and etc. I'm determined to do this one way or the other though. I'm glad you have a positive attitude and keep trying. I think I'm going to go the same path as you and try and then take a few months off to save up some money to try again if I need to. Have you been doing medicated cycles and did they do testing on you to make sure you didn't have any infertility problems before starting? I'm just asking because the receptionist made it sound like I could skip some of that general testing to save money. If it's a choice to skip it or not to skip it, I'm not sure what I would decide? Thats awful about the doctor you had last time. I'm glad she's not your normal doctor. She must of been embaressed afterwards, but that was very dumb on her part. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Well I hope you had a great Christmas and hopefully this will be your year to have your little bundle of joy!
Lori

k&b

Look at the costs Charlotte posted, and that is about the same for me! My hubby and I own a business, so are self insured, so our insurance bites and covers nothing, this is 100% out of pocket for us. we take it month by month, and so far it has not been toooooo bad.
As for the testing, DON'T skip it! I have seen so many women who try for multiple rounds only to find out they had a tubal blockage, or they are not ovulating. It is worth it to get all the tests so that we you do start trying you know for sure everyone is in working order! Otherwise you could waste a lot of money have a lot of uneeded heartache trying for something that wasn't going to happen without a little help. Luckily, most things that "could" be wrong are fixable!
There are things I never even knew about my body that mattered. I am healthy, 28, never an issue, but it turns out I need a little help from Clomid.
My initial consult fee was about $250, and I go to a very good well know RE in our area. Perhaps they met that your intial consult plus all initial testing was $1800? (Texas) Also, feel free to talk to your dr about your financial situation. If insurance won't cover anything, many drs will give you a "cash price" b/c it's more then they would get from insurance anyway.
Good luck, and keep us posted!

dreamsabc123

hi k&b,
Thanks for posting!! I'm sorry your insurance wont cover anything I'm hoping that even if my insurance stinks that the initial testing will be covered. That would be a great start! Thats really good advice about asking for a cash price too ) I've been thinking about it and even if I could skip the general testing that I would want to have it done anyone. This whole process is so expensive that I want to do it right, and if there was something wrong then I need to know about it. I'm actually surprised that possibly skipping some of it is even an option? It seems like it should be a standard thing everyone has done no matter what. Anyways Thanks again for sharing!
Lori

dreamsabc123

So I finally got in touch with someone from my health insurance agency, and they were actually helpful for once! yay!! She said that as long as I see someone who is "in service" for them then my initial visit is covered and I only have to pay my $25 dollar co pay!! Also, any blood work and labs will be covered!! The only thing I might have to pay for is the actual procedure, sperm and shipping!! However, I do need a doctor to refer me to see the specialist. I asked my regular doctor to refer me and they might not be able to and I might need to go through a gyno's office for that referral. I actually don't have a gynocologist that I see, I just go to a clinic. I feel like I'm making some progress here though and maybe I could just set up an appointment at a new gynocologist office and get the referal that I need. The other good news is that the place I was going to have my IUI at isn't considered to be in service so I have to go somewhere else. I asked for places that would be covered and she suggested some. They aren't convient as far as location goes, but at least I wont have to deal with that nasty secretary again! Right now I'm waiting for my regular doctors office to call me back to let me know if they could give me the referal or not.

GeminiJai

dreamsabc123 wrote:

She said my insurance may not even cover the consultation visit and that visit is between $650 and $1800.

It seems odd to me that they would give you a "range" for an office visit, as the cost of a basic consultation is pretty standard/uniform, so it makes me think there are some extras padded in- possibly for diagnostic testing, etc. As for insurance, I can tell you that mine covers absolutely NOTHING with respect to fertility; however, all of the diagnostic testing that I did beforehand was covered (blood work, the sonohysterography, and my HSG). Like the others, I would definitely recommend the diagnostic testing to make sure you find/fix/rule out any problems before you start spending the big bucks on the actual process of IUI, as could save you a lot of money, time and heartache if you find any issues. As for medicated versus unmedicated, I'm a 32 year old healthy woman and have chosen to try my first cycle in January with Clomid & trigger.

dreamsabc123

Good grief!!!! So I just called the new infertility clinic that I might try using in september to set up that initial visit with the doctor that my insurance recomended. Well that doctor isnt there anymore, he was only there until Jan. Whatever, I wanted a girl anyway. So I asked if I could see someone else who accepted my insurance. The receptionist put me on hold because she wasnt sure if they accepted my imsurance and then told me they did. She began asking questions that made me feel uncomfortable and then finally went to set up an appointment and told me that "my spouse needs to be there at the first appointment." I told her I wasn't married and was single and then she said "ohhh" like that was a problem and then said "holds on to me." Before she put me on hold I quickly yelled wait because I had the feeling that she was going to tell me only people who were trrying for a year were allowed in or something. I then told her how I need part of my heart replaced in a few years and that my doctor wants me to start my family soon because once that haoppens I'll be on blood thinners and it will be impossible. I told her all of that and that I'm single so I want to try this route and then shew just said "I see" and put me on hold. GRRRR, such insensitive people at these places!!! When she came back she told me that because of my special circumstances that they will allow me to be seen by one of their doctors. They are acting like its a secret club or something and I have special circumstances where they will let me into it. She asked if I wanted an an appointment for Jan 13 and then I told her I wanted one in Feb because I had a week off from work in Feb. She acted like that was the strangest thing she ever heard because she tjought even Jan 15th was too far away. <sigh> I'm sort of glad I'm getting some of this frustrating stuff out of the way now and I can start getting used to peoples attitudes now before trying. I really didn't think this was a big deal? I'm a preschool teacher and I see single moms, dads, lesbian and gay couples all the time. I never knew all the crap they really had to deal with. I give them a lot of credit.

Gemini---I agree with you. I think if I'm going to do this and deal with any of this crap and spend a lot of money on it possibly, that I want an aggressive approach to this too. I'm just praying this doctor wont be as bad as the women I just talked to. I thought the other receptionist from the clinic I had originally chosen was bad, but she seems sweet as pie compared to this new chicka. Amazing how insensitive and rude people can be. I now just have to wait for my doctors office to refer to this place. At least my appointment is set up though

dreamsabc123

Oh, one more thing.... She tried telling me that I needed to go to an orientation night before my first appointment and orientation is at like 6pm and the clinic is an hour away from my house! I told her that I wouldn't be going to an orientation because I live to far away. She told me it was important because it was full of information. I told her I was fine without it because I have been researching this on my own for awhile, already spoke to a social worker and found a great forum on the web thanks to the social worker where I've met all of you amazing people and really didnt need an orientation. She finally said fine and that it wasnt manditory to attend it anymore, but they like people to go to it. Who knew things could be made so complicated?