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Tuesday, May 27, 2014

The Cost Of Happiness

Little girls don’t dream of growing up and having their own children through assisted reproduction methods. In fact, until I found out that this was what I needed to do in order to have children of my own, I really didn’t know much about IUI, IVM, IVF etc… let alone what any of those acronyms stood for! I was also completely unaware of the associated costs. Whoever says that money can’t buy happiness has never learned that they can only have children through IVF because you need a whole lot of money to get what you want!

I have spreadsheets detailing all of the costs over the years and it’s just incredible. Back in 2010 my rounds of IVM medications alone cost about 5600$ (1300$ out of pocket thanks to insurance) and my cancelled IVF back in 2012 cost about 1850$ (425$ out of pocket this time). But when you break that down to a day by day cost, some days were costing me 200$ or more! That’s a lot to deal with when you have to pay everything up front and then wait for your insurance claims to be completed and refunded. But don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining because this is considered to be cheap now that the Quebec government is paying for treatments; the only thing they don’t cover is the medication. I am extremely grateful for this!

Actually, I was talking to a friend recently about by upcoming (and somewhat dreaded) 35th birthday and the cost of treatments whenever we decide to start again. Jokingly, he suggested everyone should buy me a shot – and not the kind with alcohol, the injections! I might seriously have to consider this idea though; joke or not, it’s not a bad plan!

Our new clinic is also semi-private which means that while treatment itself is still covered, all of the diagnostic testing we have been going through is not. I have spent anywhere from 100$ - 450$ each time we walk in that place (also covered by insurance, mostly) but it has all been worth it and I am glad we did it. The staff is so much nicer than most of the people at the hospital, the appointments are actually on time, and when I make an appointment to see my doctor I actually see MY doctor and not an army of residents. I understand the need for teaching hospitals, but I am tired of feeling like a lab rat; I have paid those dues over and over again!

So if you see me or DH panhandling one of these days, you know why!