OK, in this short post we will have a look at Infertility Insurance. Some countries such as the UK, have very good free healthcare systems (NHS in UK) that can provide treatments free. In other countries of the world, including the USA, almost all fertility healthcare is run by private enterprises which means direct or indirect payments for health services. Most of the newer high tech infertiltiy treatments are very costly, so deep pockets are required if you don’t have a medical plan or healthcare insurance. Take a look at my more in-depth page on Infertility Insurance here…
Thirty years ago there were many classes of infertility that had no hope of treatment. The rate of development of the science and methodologies in the sphere of infertility since that time has been truly astounding and given the opportunity to become a parent. But for many this has become a great frustration because although these treatments have come along, they are expensive and can be out of reach for many people.
The thing about infertility or health insurance is of course you will not be offered the insurance if you already have the condition. Just like you wouldn’t expect to be able insure your car after the car accident so it is with insurance, you can only apply if the risk of the insurance paying out is low. That’s how they make their money after all – money in and little money out!!
Some company medical insurance plans do offer some infertility assistance and this may be quite basic like help with funding the diagnosis of infertility to help with funding the actual treatments. Some companies offer add-ons to their standard plans that do offer more extensive assistance with infertility diagnosis and treatments.
Employers may offer this deluxe type of medical insurance at no cost to the employee or it may be offered at subsidized costs where the employer pays a portion and you pay a portion. This may be quite generous or leave you to pay for most of the treatment costs yourselves.
Insurance companies will have restrictions in place on who can get cover based on criteria such as age and and any previous medical history that is relevant. Also there is often a time limit in place that states that you need to have been in the plan for x period of time before you can avail yourself of the insurance financial assistance.
The insurance method comes in several different flavors with some offering up front financial assistance, whilst other plans offer refund plans that allow you to recoup costs you pay out yourself, often from taking loans. Some plans offer to refund loans if no baby results from infertility treatments but nothing if there is no resultant baby. ie. you pay the loan yourself.
Infertility insurance plans may be already embedded in your current plan or you may have the options to upgrade the plan, whatever the situation there are insurance specialists in this field that can guide you through the maze of complexity of doing the best for yourself financially.