It is important to understand how to pay for IVF treatment? In assisted reproductive technology, thousands of people have become parents. But the technology is expensive—especially IVF (in vitro fertilization), one of its most successful procedures.

The Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology reports that women under 37 have a 41-43 percent chance of giving birth after each in vitro fertilization cycle, while women over 40 have just an 18 percent chance. Many fertility clinics offer payment programs to help make IVF treatment more affordable. Contact your clinic and ask about the options they can offer you.

While price comparisons are important when choosing a fertility clinic, make sure to also consider their success rates. If an IVF clinic has a very low price, but multiple cycles may be needed because of low success rates—it's not worth the savings!

Some clinics offer refund programs in which you pay a set fee, usually between $20,000 and $30,000. The clinic will give back part of your money if it fails to produce a pregnancy after three or four IVF cycles—but only if the couple qualifies for that particular program.

There are drawbacks and benefits to refund programs. On the plus side, if you don't get pregnant while using the program's medications or other services—(for example: charting) —you stand to receive at least part of your money back. (In most cases, though not all, refunds do not include any costs associated with medications.)

If you need all three or four cycles to conceive, you will end up paying less for your IVF treatment than if you paid as each cycle was completed. On the other hand, if you get pregnant on your first cycle of IVF, you may spend more money than necessary for treatment. Most refund programs will not accept your application if they think it is unlikely that you'll become pregnant quickly.

The average cost of an IVF cycle is $12,000; this amount does not include fertility drugs, specialized testing or a hospital delivery.

Insurance companies, state governments and the federal government all have a role in deciding whether to cover infertility treatments. In addition, what’s covered for an individual couple also depends on their age and reasons for needing treatment as well as their relationship status (whether they are married or not).

So, based on this, the question arises: how to pay for IVF? Below we will give you some options. 

How to pay for IVF treatment: Extra health insurance

The first thing you should do is check your insurance coverage. Even if a state requires health insurance plans to cover infertility treatment, some companies will not offer any type of plan in which this is included.

If your employer doesn't offer insurance coverage for infertility treatments, talk to them about adding this benefit. Or consider switching jobs to a company that offers such benefits. Be clear with the financial department of your chosen clinic about what options exist. Some clinics offer discounted rates to members of the military or their families.

In most cases, this does not cover even part of the costs, but in this case any financial assistance will not be superfluous. 

How do people afford IVF: Crowdfunding

We can help answer this question: how do people afford IVF? You may feel uncomfortable asking others for donations to fund your IVF, but you might be surprised by how many of your friends and family members will help. There are examples of couples letting their social-media communities know what they’re going through—which has led some people to chip in with generous donations!

People offered their best wishes and some even started a fundraising campaign to help cover the couple's expenses. In addition, they were able to collect enough money so that most of their costs were covered.

How to get IVF paid for: Grants

So how do people pay for IVF? Some foundations offer grants specifically for in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. Foundations offer grants to support families using in vitro fertilization, and some have lists of grant programs for specific geographic regions. Your clinic may also have specific grant programs for which you are eligible, which can be found on its website. Consult your agency on this topic.

We hope we were able to help you understand how to get IVF paid for.