Infertility Health Insurance

Infertility health insurance is best found through your employer's plan.  There you most likely to find direct reimbursement for infertility treatments.  But the majority of couples trying to conceive don't have this luxury.  They have to consider individual, supplemental, and other cost cutting options. 

If this describes your situation, read further for direct answers on:

• Group Infertility Health Insurance: which employer plans cover infertility and state mandates.
• Individual Infertility Insurance Coverage: how it works.
• Supplemental Health Insurance for Infertility: how it offsets infertility costs, and creates added security for complications.
• Infertility Treatment Costs: use the tax code to cut costs.

Group Infertility Health Insurance

Group infertility health insurance comes in the form of health insurance plans that directly cover infertility treatments, along with a comprehensive spectrum of health care - what most people call major medical insurance.  Some lucky couples have infertility health insurance coverage through their employer's plans.  Most are not so lucky.  Why?  Follow the money.

Infertility treatments are expensive.  Group infertility treatment insurance plans cost more.  Employers and employees want lower cost health insurance.  Therefore, infertility health insurance is not readily offered to employees: unless someone forces them to do so.

Fourteen states mandate health insurance infertility coverage for some insurance companies and/or employers. If you live, work, or work for an employer headquartered in one of those states, you might be one of the lucky few. If not, you need to be creative.  The primary option - move to a state with mandated coverage, and get hired by an employer with infertility insurance plans - is rather extreme.

Individual Infertility Insurance Coverage

Individual infertility insurance coverage will rebate or refund a portion of your infertility treatment costs if you fail to conceive or delivery a baby. 

On the surface, individual infertility insurance coverage has appeal. Who wants to make all these additional medical payments, only to come up empty? But did a little deeper, and you might change your thinking.

The insurer is betting that you will deliver a baby, but only if you qualify medically. That means they will offer you infertility insurance plans only if their underwriting experience suggests that your treatments will succeed. You are betting that you won’t conceive – but with less data and less experience than the insurance company.

Does this make sense? Not to this writer. Also consider which costs you more?

• You fail to get pregnant - You are refunded a portion of the infertility treatment costs
• You are blessed with a pregnancy - Your costs are just beginning.  First, you are responsible for the full cost of your infertility treatments.  Then you  may experience a high risk pregnancy, incur additional medical expenses, and/or miss unplanned time from work.   You will lose mom's income during her maternity leave.  Then there is the cost of raising a child. 

These plans miss the mark. If you can't afford infertility treatments that fail to work, how can you possibly deal with the extra expenses and lost income associated with having a child?  This choice leads many to financial ruin.  Plus, you will be betting against the insurance company armed with better information, more experience, and deeper pockets. 

Cut Your Infertility Treatment Costs

Supplemental Health Insurance for Infertility

Supplemental health insurance for infertility allows you to bet with the insurers mentioned above, AND provides a payoff that matches your biggest exposure: you get pregnant.  Benefits are paid when you delivery your baby!

Purchase supplemental infertility insurance before your treatments begin.  Your benefit for normal delivery may greatly exceed the premium you pay.  Use the surplus to offset some of your costs.  Plus, you get additional security in case of pregnancy complications, premature birth, delivery complications, accidents, and illnesses. 

Short Term Disability Insurance pays a six week benefit for vaginal delivery, and an eight week benefit for c-section delivery.  Plus you are covered in case you miss work due to medical reasons like complications, illnesses, and accidents.

Many infertility treatments are often associated with multiple pregnancies.  Multiple pregnancies often are delivered pre-term.  When this happens your infants may spend time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).  You may be left with extra hospital bills. 

Hospital Indemnity Insurance will also cover hospital stay for your normal labor and delivery.  Hospital indemnity insurance may pay additional benefits for each infant confined in the NICU for medical reasons.