Pain in the hip (pocket) - how much does IVF really cost?

Lovely husband finally arrived back home today. I had been missing him and it is nice to have him back. All of my positive feelings about IVF had disappeared and I was feeling low again and wondering if I will ever be a mother. I've been trying not to think about how I would adjust my life goals to not include children anymore but at this stage it is just too hard to contemplate. I do feel happier now that husband is home again though.

As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I am still holding out for us to get pregnant naturally this cycle but so far no signs at all that it will happen. I stopped Provera today though so if I am not pregnant, my period should come on in the next few days.

Anyway, I thought I would go into some detail on the costs involved in doing IVF. Everyone knows it isn't a cheap way to get pregnant but all of the clinic sites state really wide ranging costs so it is hard to figure out exactly how much it is going to hit the hip pocket. All of the amounts I'm quoting are in Australian dollars and I've detailed absolutely all the costs, even though not everyone will need all tests etc. Since we are very fortunate in Aust to have a public health system that covers IVF cycles, the costs are after the government Medicare benefit has been refunded.

So, to outline the damage thus far (some are approx):

Two visits to the GP to test progesterone (ovulation) and get a referral - $32.80 each

Two blood tests - ~$120 each

Two specialist gynaecologist appointments - $250 and $92

Two ultrasounds - $145 each

Sperm test and sperm wash - $230 each

28 days worth of Lucrin - $210 (no Medicare rebate)

30 days worth of Provera - $21 (no Medicare rebate)

One IVF cycle - $8089

The clinic includes everything in the cycle costs, which makes things simpler. It covers: blood tests, ultrasounds, lab fees, scientist fees, nurses time, admin fee, counselling, specialist time to plan and monitor and do the egg retrieval and embryo transfer, semen preparation, day surgery costs, and FSH. The trigger and luteal phase support drugs are extra.

Of the $8654, my private health insurance will pay some of the day surgery fees ($455 - good of them!) and the government Medicare benefit will pay $2170. But as we have reached the Medicare safety net of $1000 in one year (yeah, like that wasn't hard - see above!), we are also eligible for 80% of our out-of-pocket costs. So that means they will pay another $3746.36.

So all told, of the $8654, we will end up paying about $2282.

We are not counting the cost though - it quickly becomes irrelevant and it doesn't bother me to be paying it. I guess not everyone would be able to feel that way though. A few thousand $ is still a lot of money. The costs could be so much higher without the Medicare funding.

Anyway, we are prepared to go for more cycles but it would be really lovely if we didn't need to :-)

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