Many couples delay seeing a fertility specialist because of concerns about fertility treatment cost.  While it is true that many fertility treatments are expensive, not all couples will require advanced reproductive technologies such as IVF. Our Louisiana fertility clinic is dedicated to offering treatment in a highly individualized environment, always recommending the treatment most likely to result in pregnancy while considering other factors such as fertility treatment cost, stress, emotional health, and others.

When the media “covers” infertility it is usually to discuss the advanced, exotic procedures that they deem newsworthy.  Because of this “slant”, many infertile couples do not realize that less then 20% of couples who see a fertility specialist will require IVF.  Many “waste” time and money on non specialist fertility treatments, such as repeated Clomid cycles, that are highly unlikely to succeed. “Time” is critically important to women in their thirties. Fertility can decline very rapidly in the “30’s” age group and a fertility specialist must be consulted without delay. There is often not enough time to undergo empiric therapies such as Clomid. Fertility treatment costs are increase every time a therapy is tried and fails.

The same media bias prevails when discussing the safety of reproductive technology procedures. We usually see stories of couples who underwent IUI and produce seven offspring. Rarely, is it mentioned that these high order multiple births are the result of induction cycles managed by non specialists. You probably won’t recall a news story of a couple who underwent IVF and had a singleton birth; the child of their dreams.

Part of society’s misconception about fertility treatment costs extends to the managed care providers who are asked to pay for the procedures. For many of these companies, infertility is considered a “condition” not a disease. No where else in medicine is this the situation even in cases of chiropractic care where controlled clinical studies of effectiveness are lacking; yet reimbursement exists.

It is extremely important that you research which fertility treatment costs are covered by your insurance provider. All too often, we have verified coverage for a patient only to have the company decline coverage after the procedure. For this reason, we strongly advise patients to obtain a written pre authorization for treatment which “spells out” their coverage.  This document provides the proof of coverage that may be needed if a claim is denied.

Some couples do have good coverage for infertility including medications and in vitro fertilization but this is the exception and not the rule. Many couples find that the fertility treatment costs covered include some diagnostic procedures and tests. This certainly helps offset fertility treatment costs.

Sometimes fertility treatment costs are extremely reasonable. It is absolutely critical that both partners undergo a complete battery of fertility tests.  A reproductive endocrinologist, infertility specialist should always be consulted.  The suspected cause of infertility must be known before treatment begins. This is contrary to the approach of many “generalists” who routinely prescribe Clomid, even if the patient is ovulating.  Often, this approach is taken in the absence of a semen analysis. A “missed diagnosis” can cost couples thousands of dollars on treatments which have no chance to succeed.

Good examples of this may be women with hyperprolactinemia or polycystic ovarian syndrome.  A fertility specialist will recognize the symptoms of hyperprolactinemia and prescribe the pharmaceutical bromocriptine or rule out a pituitary tumor. Oftentimes, this is all that is needed to establish regular ovulation and achieve pregnancy. However, generalists may not be schooled on his condition, seeing it only very rarely, and may prescribe several cycles of Clomid thus increasing fertility treatment costs. It may work, but bromocriptine is the treatment of choice.

Some generalists may prescribe ovarian drilling for PCOS patients’ event though it is usually the treatment of “last resort” for fertility specialists. It is expensive and requires outpatient surgery and all of its associated costs including the facility fee, surgeon’s fee, anesthesiologist’s fee, and more. The fertility specialist may opt to use the latest medication shown to be effective in PCOS, metformin, thus greatly reducing fertility treatment cost. This drug may allow ovulation to resume and save all of the costs and risks associated with surgery.

Also, many patients will become pregnant using FSH stimulated intrauterine insemination (IUI).  The fertility specialists at “A Women’s Center for Reproductive Medicine” are committed to helping couples control fertility treatment costs.  In this vein, we recently began offering an "IVF Refund Program" for those patients requiring IVF. The IVF Refund program can greatly reduce overall fertility treatment costs.  We have a separate Web page devoted to this topic.

Our business manager and insurance specialist are always available to help couples understand fertility treatment costs, file insurance claims, and provide financing alternatives that may be available.

Our Louisiana fertility clinic servers couples from Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and the surrounding regions.  Many couples commute to our fertility clinic because of our reputation for “putting the patient first” in a caring and compassionate environment.