How on earth do you start an IVF journey without plummeting in to dark money pit?

With finances at the forefront of everyone’s minds due to the current state of the economy here in the UK, we have joined forces with Access Fertility to discuss the finer points of funding IVF

With their help over the coming months, we will look closer at topics that will affect your budget if you are thinking about starting IVF including:

how to avoid spiralling costs
How to avoid unnecessary and costly add-ons
The chances of IVF working the first time round
What you can do to enhance the chances of your IVF working
A refund package

IVF is costly, and as we have spoken about so many times, it takes on average 3 rounds for a successful outcome, by which we mean a live birth. So how on earth do you start an IVF journey without plummeting in to dark money pit? We asked the team to help us put a plan together.

Your Budget:

IVFB: We always suggest to our readers that before they start IVF, they do their research and put together a budget. Can you give us your top tips for putting together a financial plan ahead of starting IVF?

Access Fertility: First things first, check what NHS provision there is near you, and take a careful look at the criteria were you live to see what you’re entitled to (your Clinical Commissioning Group will have this information). Do bear in mind that undertaking IVF through the NHS can take much longer than private treatment, so try to explore this option as early as possibly in your journey.

If you do decide to pursue private treatment, the next step is to consider whether the costs are affordable for you. Take a look at all your existing commitments, such as mortgages or rent, bills and what disposable income you have when all those expenses have come out. At the moment, that’s something a lot of people will have to look at carefully, given rising inflation and cost of living.

Make sure you get your screening tests and a consultation with your consultant as soon as you can. That way, you can identify the best course of action for you, which is the only way to get a comprehensive and accurate idea of the costs involved.

Many of our patients find it helpful to set a limit about how much they’re prepared to spend on treatment. With an average success rate of just 23% in the UK for all cycles, most people will need more than one round, so you need to plan with that in mind.

Increasingly companies are offering fertility benefits to their employees. Therefore it may be worth looking into your benefits package or speaking to your HR department about the support they can offer.

Choosing the right clinic

IVFB: Choosing the right clinic really is important is so key. How do you as a company choose which clinics to work with? Can patients follow the same checklist as you when choosing which clinic they want to have their treatment with?

Access Fertility: We absolutely agree – choosing your clinic is one of the most important decisions in your IVF journey. At Access Fertility we carefully select the clinics we partner with. We ensure each one shares our philosophy of personalised, high-quality treatment, to make sure you’re in good hands. Our role is to offer payment programmes which make that IVF treatment more affordable, allow you to manage the costs and offer a refund if you don’t have a baby. This leaves the clinic to solely take care of your medical needs. As a partnership, we aim to reduce some of the stress that IVF can involve, and ensure you receive the highest level of care from the best IVF clinics in the UK and Europe.

Some of the key things you may wish to consider when choosing a clinic are:

Are they registered by the HFEA (or equivalent regulator in their country if outside the UK)? All Access Fertility clinics are HFEA registered. The HFEA website offers a useful clinic search tool which gives facts such as treatments offered, and patient ratings. Helpfully, it’s all available in a directory that you can navigate according to postcode.
Where is the clinic? From the initial consultation through to the first ultrasound scan, you’ll need to visit your clinic many times, often at short notice. Choosing a clinic near you is essential to avoid any unnecessary inconvenience, stress and cost.
Understand success rates. Make sure you choose a clinic that reports good success rates to ensure your best chances.

Understanding hidden costs

IVFB: What questions would you advise patients to ask when talking about costs with a clinic?

Access Fertility: Because each patient’s needs will be unique to them, exact IVF costs vary depending on the individuals concerned. This is why you will struggle to find a fixed sum that you can easily look up online for a private IVF cycle.

Furthermore, there are some things that certain patients will need that others won’t, particularly when it comes to tests and medication.

The most important step is to undergo your initial consultation and assessment to best understand your individual circumstances. Make sure the clinic is clear with you about what will be included in your treatment, and which of that is essential, versus what the HFEA refers to as an ‘add-on’. If you’re in doubt as to whether the add on is necessary, the HFEA offers a helpful traffic light system that can guide you.

Finally, when it comes to your payment plan, ask about whether this is inclusive of medication, storage or testing, which are usually additional costs.

Knowing what options there are out there

IVFB: If, once the patient has gone through the points above, and understands what they can afford, they do have the option of a refund scheme. Can you explain how this works?

Access Fertility: We help patients to take the uncertainty out of IVF. Our IVF Refund Programme offers a package of treatment (2 or 3 fresh cycles of IVF and unlimited frozen embryo transfers) as well as a broad range of inclusions, all for a fixed fee. Then, if after treatment you sadly don’t have a baby, you will receive a refund of up to 100%, depending on the plan you chose. This can help reduce the stress out of treatment and give you the reassurance you have a plan in place.

A patient described this really well to us recently: “I just thought, either we’ll have a baby, or worst case scenario, we’ll still get our money back. It was the security. We couldn’t afford to lose both. At the end, we’d either have a baby, or our money back to try another cycle. That security takes the pressure off, and having less stress is so important when you’re going through IVF.”

For more information about Access Fertility and the reassurance we can offer to your IVF journey, click here