According to recent statistics, 1 out of every 6 couples in America will experience fertility problems. Many of those people will require medical assistance in order to become pregnant. While there are several different medical procedures that a couple may be medically qualified to perform, the type of Assisted Reproductive Technology with the highest pregnancy rate is In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). However, since the average cost of IVF is around $12,000, many couples are forced to settle for a less effective type of Assisted Reproductive Technology because they are more affordable than IVF is. Because they do not understand what the fertility clinic has to pay to perform an IVF cycle, most couples feel that the fertility clinic fees for IVF are unjustified.
The average fertility clinic staff is comprised of one or two Reproductive Endocrinologists, an Embryologist, one or two nurses, a medical assistant, two front office assistants, and an office manager. All of these staff members are integral to running a productive and competent fertility clinic. Without these essential staff members, no patient could go through an IVF cycle at the fertility clinic because necessary duties would go unfinished. All of these staff members need to be paid, and unfortunately, some of them do not come cheap. The physicians and the Embryologist make the most money, followed by the nurses and the office manager and then the front and back office assistants. The employees’ wages are a large part of what inflates the IVF cost.
Most fertility clinics have their own in house IVF laboratory. Inside the IVF laboratory are incubators for the eggs and embryos, microscopes, freezers, and cryo tanks for storing the frozen specimens. The fertility clinic must purchase all of this equipment and it is all very expensive. Also, because fertility clinics are always trying to improve their pregnancy rate, they are always on the lookout for newer, better machinery that will give them an edge over their competition. As a result, fertility clinics may upgrade their laboratory equipment frequently, and pay a high price to do so. The fees for the laboratory equipment are another part of what causes the IVF costs to increase.
Fertility clinics also have routine, monthly expenses they need to pay. Advertising, rent, employee health insurance, malpractice insurance, electronic medical records software and licenses, and practice licensing and accreditation fees are all expenses that a fertility clinic must pay each month. In addition, the IVF laboratory requires monthly maintenance and cleaning using expensive chemicals. Running the hormone assays and performing procedures for each patient’s IVF cycle is also costly. Maintaining the levels of liquid nitrogen in the cryo tanks containing the frozen sperm, eggs, and embryos costs the fertility clinic money. In order to be a profitable business, the fertility clinic must pass all of these fees on to their patients by increasing the costs of IVF.
Understanding why the IVF cost is so high is of little comfort to the couple that cannot afford to pay for In Vitro Fertilization. While it is possible that health insurance may cover the In Vitro Fertilization services, it is not typically a covered benefit. The unfortunate reality is that for the nearly 1 out of every 6 couples that have fertility problems, if they do require In Vitro Fertilization to get pregnant, they will probably need to pay the $12,000 it costs out of their own pockets.
Incoming search terms:
- cost of in vitro fertilization 2011
- in vitro fertilization costs 2011
- ivf cost
- in vitro fertilization cost 2011
- IVF COST 2011
- ivf costs
- average cost of IVF 2011
- ivf equipment cost
- IVF costs 2011
- cost of ivf at mayo clinic
Tagged with: Cost of IVF • In Vitro Fertilization • IVF Cost
Filed under: Cost of IVF information
