Cost of IVF

IVF Costs in Australia

I always thought of IVF as expensive and while I still think it is, it is less expensive than in other countries. For example, in the United States IVF can cost up to around US $12,000.

This is pretty expensive when compared to the cost that Australians pay for IVF. For example, at a leading clinic in Melbourne Australia, the latest cost that I paid for IVF was around $6,900 excluding hospital costs. The hospital costs were $1,900 bringing the total cost of the treatment to AUD$8,800 (US$7,700). That's a massive saving of over $4,000 for Australian IVF patients.

My upfront costs to the clinic were approximately $5,000 including medications. The difference in the cost is explained by the fact that the clinic and the health insurance fund does not charge the patient the full amount and waits to receive the rest of their payment via the government's Medicare system.

Fortunately, my private health insurance covered the hospital costs. I received $3,700 back from Medicare six weeks after egg collection as I had reached my *Medicare Safety Net* threshold. So my total out of pocket cycle cost was $1,300. Expensive yes, but not as expensive as some of my overseas readers who do not get any rebates back.

Interestingly, the Government has announced that they will be revisiting the limits on the Medicare Safety Net threshold for IVF and may cap IVF limits. Details of this are not fully known but what is clear, is that the cost of IVF will be going up.

For overseas readers who do not understand the health system in Australia, the Medicare Safety Net effectively means that I can claim money back from the government from this calendar year because I had already spent a fortune on IVF and was entitled to a rebate.

Still in With a Chance

IVF Conception Still Possible

A visit to my IVF specialist revealed that he still thinks my husband and I will conceive. So despite being nearly 40 and despite my husbands sperm problems, he still thinks this is a realistic goal.

It's funny how a Doctor can be so confident when after 7 failures, you are not. So after asking all the probing questions, he still feels we will get pregnant. Apparently, he has done every test possible to me so from his perspective there is no reason why I should not fall pregnant. IVF apparently helps overcome male infertility issues so theoretically, there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to become parents.

This makes things a little frustrating as it seems everything that should be working isn't. I guess it puts us in no mans land. The other annoying thing is that IVF is not cheap - not by a long shot so every failure means spending more money on another round. Whilst, you can't put a cost on what I perceive to be a joy in having a baby, it does place a financial strain on your budget.

So with this in mind we have decided to continue down this path and try again. Fortunately, we have one frozen embryo left from the cycle I did in January. So apart from giving my body a rest from the drugs it means we will use our last remaining embryo. So if this fails, another stimulated cycle is on the cards. In the meantime, I will continue to focus on having a good nutritional diet, no alcohol or coffee - basically following the suggestions in the Pregnancy Miracle ebook I purchased a few weeks ago.

Day 12 Breast Alert

A Sure Sign You Are Not Pregnant

Bad news. Constant breast groping has revealed my breasts are back to normal. They are no longer sore and tender and pumped with hormones. The pimples on my face have gone down only to leave my nose with ugly flashes of red (thank God for make-up).

I take the breast thing as potentially bad news - it seems unlikely that I am pregnant. However, I remain in hope that this is not the case. That hopefully, the lack of tenderness I am experiencing is just a sign that my body has worked hard to remove all those excess hormones that developed as a result of the injections.

I really don't want to think about the consequences of spending another $5,000 on yet another treatment. I am in denial and I am still weeks away from receiving any reimbursement from Medicare for yet another IVF attempt. Next year, some sweeping changes to Medicare will mean that IVF will not get as much favourable treatment so the out of pocket costs will definitely rise. The implications of this are yet unknown.

I contemplate the research I have been doing on IVF and count my fortunes that I do not live in the USA where IVF is more than double the cost of doing it in Australia. I guess there are small blessings in everything. The best blessing though, would be a pregnancy. Who I am kidding!

Another Test, Another Dollar

IVF Tests, Scans and Costs

Today marks the third scan and blood test that I have had in less than a week. The good news is that my follicles are coming along nicely and there are now 10 reasonably large follicles (hopefully with some eggs inside of them).

It seems that at certain point, the ultrasound team don't measure the small follicles - just the larger ones. What I'd like to know is what happened to the other 20 plus follicles that were detected only a few days earlier!! I suppose they are still there in hiding.

In any case, that question goes unanswered as I learn that I am scheduled for egg collection this Friday 31st July. This means taking the day off on sick leave and not working at my part-time job on Saturday.

It also means two more injections tonight and two more tomorrow night and then a final one on Wednesday night to trigger ovulation. All good fun. My aversion to needles is back with a vengence. The veins in my arms have gone into hiding. My stomach is looking pretty bruised from all the needles. I am starting to feel bloated and uncomfortable again from my swollen ovaries. My purse is $166 lighter after paying for two more antagonist injections. Is it worth it? Definately if we get a positive result and a healthy baby at the end of it all.