Supplemental Infertility Insurance Protection: Should You Buy It?

Each year, couples across the United States receive news that adversely affects their lives - news that infertility may be a health complication and complicate family planning. For many couples, the lack of finances often results in the inability to have a baby by using fertility treatments and can be frustrating as health insurance companies continue to deny treatment for infertility.

If you have been given news that you, or your spouse, may have complications with infertility, it will be necessary to look for supplemental fertility insurance coverage. Unfortunately, many supplemental coverages such as these will deny coverage when the complications of fertility are already present. It is important, therefore, that you shop around for, and purchase, supplemental infertility insurance well before you learn from a doctor that you fears about fertility are true.

Fertility treatments are expensive. From invitro fertilization to fertility shots, men and women often find that they cannot have children even with fertility treatment because of the cost associated with care and the relative low risk of actually conceiving. If you are struggling to find a way to balance the cost and the benefits, shopping for supplemental infertility insurance may be prudent.

When shopping for supplemental infertility treatment, be sure you understand what is covered and what is excluded. Oftentimes, coverage is provided for a full array of fertility treatments but typically there is a cap on the dollar amount that is paid. If the caps on those coverages are relatively low, the cost of the premium may not justify the purchase of the insurance coverage and you may find that your money is better invested into a financial vehicle that can draw interest or a rate of return. Over time, your financial vehicle may earn enough money to supply the funds to support your fertility treatment but, again, this will be an issue to be addressed when facing family finances and the number of years left for child bearing.

Infertility is a complex health condition that adversely affects millions of couples. If you are considering options for fertility treatment, consider the cost of purchasing supplemental infertility insurance coverage but first weigh the benefits of such coverage by looking at the exclusions clause, pre-existing clause, caps on payments, and weigh these factors against the cost of the coverage overall. In doing so, you may find there are other ways in which to obtain the funds to undergo proper infertility treatment.

Sources: Family Planning in the 21 Century, pp. 89-97