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The Price of Parenthood
4 Steps to Financing Fertility
By Laura Christianson
No one expects to be infertile. Jennifer and Anthony Cafero of Larchmont, N.Y., certainly didn't, especially since Jennifer had gotten pregnant with their first child without any difficulty. But after trying for a year to conceive a second child, the Caferos decided to consult a fertility specialist.
"I spent over $1,000 on ovulation kits and home pregnancy tests before I opened the door to a doctor's office," says Cafero. At the time, she thought that $1,000 was an extraordinary amount to invest in getting pregnant. Now, she chuckles at that thought.
"Last year, we did four unsuccessful IVF [in vitro fertilization] cycles that were completely covered by insurance, and we still paid close to $14,000 in out-of-pocket expenses," she says. Those expenses included an insurance deductible, $10 co-pays for every office visit (and there have been dozens), co-pays for medications, anesthesia fees, doctor's office "facility" fees and embryo cyropreservation and storage fees. She also hired a private nurse to give her daily injections, at $35 a shot. She visited a psychologist and participated in a mind/body program that helped her restructure habits and thought patterns that could have a negative impact on her fertility.
Although the Caferos saved carefully for their treatment and are taking full advantage of their health insurance benefits, 38-year-old Jennifer realizes that her age, her medical condition (she has Asherman syndrome, which caused recurrent miscarriages) and her "battle-weary ovaries" are working against her.
"We keep dipping into savings, but we don't have $14,000 lying around to do another IVF cycle," she says. So the Caferos have put everything on hold. They've opted not to buy expensive gifts; they're considering downsizing their home. The following are 4 steps you can take to help finance fertility treatments.
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