Working Through Your Options
Finances and emotions. How do you balance the two? Your dreams of building a family may occupy many of your sleeping and most of your waking hours. How do you step back and take a practical look at how to approach the process in the most financially responsible way? This brief guide will help you.
Without a doubt, it’s tough to make financial decisions in such an emotional arena as fertility. Because it’s difficult to make dollars and cents decisions at the time when you are most deeply immersed in treatment, advanced planning is crucial. And, while costs can be substantial, like a lot of things we decide to do in life, they can be managed.
STEP 1 – Learn all you can about the rewards and risks of treatment
STEP 2 – Take a hard look at your priorities
STEP 3 – Analyze your finances
STEP 4 – Learn the ins and outs of insurance
STEP 5 – Investigate other sources of funds
Consultants
One of the newer developments is the growth of a fertility process consulting industry. Such consultants have legal, counseling, or business credentials that they use to provide person-to-person guidance for a fee. Your physician may be able to refer you to infertility consultants, if they exist in your area. Always obtain references from any consultant before engaging their services.
Helpful Publications
RESOLVE, an infertility support organization, has just recently published a booklet, Planning to Afford Family Building, available through their web site. RESOLVES’s partner in presenting the above booklet is the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). NEFE offers its own publication, How to Make Adoption An Affordable Option on their web site.
Using a little forethought and getting professional assistance will allow you to feel more in control and make your journey seem less insurmountable. We work with each couple to foster their knowledge and understanding and provide them with whatever they need to make the best choices for them. This includes an open discussion about costs, insurance coverage and payment policies. This discussion is an important part of the entire process you will experience when you visit us for consultation and treatment.