No Insurance? Really?

I just got a bit of a sucker-punch in the face... my insurance isn't going to cover the cycle we just completed. Seriously.

We verified coverage - 70% COVERED!
Our Dr. office verified coverage - 70% COVERED!.

We were not told about our "lifetime benefit" having been used with this insurance plan until we tried to order meds a few weeks ago. I thought maybe that was just for meds, but it turns out that the "lifetime benefit" isn't insurance plan-based, it is company-based, and it extends across pharmacy AND medicall care.

So, when we verified the coverage why weren't we told about the $10,000 max? The current insurance carrier didn't have the amount "loaded" into their system, so they were showing we'd spent $0 of our lifetime benefit.

So, it looks like we are going to be paying out-of-pocket for the WHOLE cycle! Seriously.

Can you say $21,000 insurance mistake?

I'm really, really, really, really not happy.

Small Response - Big Money

As you can see from the title, We've not been getting the good response we'd hoped for...We only have 7 follies, and we were wanting more like 20. The idea was to do one BIG round and then coast for a few frozen cycles if need be.

I'm not sure if I'll even have anything to transfer - given that 2+ years ago with 13 eggs I only had a 20% fert rate... Makes me very sad, indeed.

I'm not sure when retrieval will be - I think they are going to give me some more time to "grow", since I had several 1.1 to 1.3 size on Sunday. The best guess is trigger Wed night or Thur night. Then I'm not really sure if we'll do a 3 day or 5 day turnaround.

Cycling makes planning for work REALLY fun, huh? I can hear it now, "Hey Boss. I might need Thursday or Friday off for a full day, or maybe work from home. Then I may need all day Monday or Wednesday off, but I'm not sure! Can I get back with you when my Dr. says what the plan is?"

Geesh.

OH - and the "Big Money" part of the title... I just found out that our prescription coverage ran out for fertility meds! YAY!!! I have Rx coverage, but this is considered a "speciality med" so it is under a different plan wherin I've hit the max. We are going to have to pay $ 740 per vial of the Folli.stim (I need 2 additional) and a couple hundred more for the Gani.relix. Trust me when I say I came near crying when I found out.

We have poured so much money down this fertility hole this cycle. I'd feel better if we were seeing a big response, but the low #'s of follies make me feel like I'm wasting money, and LOTS of it. We spent $4000 on the IVF deposit and $2000 on meds so far, now we are adding another $2000 to the meds cost.

$8000 to make 7eggs - and one of those eggs is going to overmature, due to it's large lead on the others. So... 6 eggs for $8000. I know some of you pay more, because you have NO coverage at all, but this is a first for me. I can't imagine how people come up with the $ for full-freight, which I'm guesstimating would have cost us $15000 for the procedure and another $6000+ for meds.

Tell me truly, how do you afford $21,000 for IVF? Really? I don't think we could, so I'm interested in what you've had to do to afford it, or if you have coverage.

Love and hugs to all of you for your support... I've loved getting your comments and the direct notes. Mwah!