IVF #4: The Insurance Dance

I swear... the most stressful part of going through IVF isn't going through stims... or having endless monitoring appointments. It's trying to get the darn approvals through my insurance.

What an absolute headache.

Medical Insurance

I received my approval for infertility coverage, which was good. But then I found out that they would not cover ICSI. Why? Because they said they only cover it if there is a semen analysis (SA) issue. The reasoning is: I'm using donor sperm, therefore there is no SA issue. Doing traditional insemination with IVF isn't really that reasonable since ideally you would have more sperm. The donor I have is an ART vial, meaning there are less sperm in the vial. It's itty bitty. I'm contesting the decision, but I can't help but be annoyed / irritated that they would say any one using donor sperm doesn't qualify for ICSI coverage. There is a reason people use donor sperm.

Reminder of what ICSI does:

Pharmacy

I ordered my meds last week and I barely just received them today. Why? Apparently they needed all these approvals and they didn't let me know they needed them and they didn't try to get them on their own. When I finally figured it out, I had to wait for them to go through their process of approving the coverage. Then, they ended up shipping my meds at the wrong time. Just an absolute mess.

Cycle Pay Day and Injections Training - 10/11/18 

Which led to my cycle "pay day" and injections training. I ended up having to pay for ICSI, which was unexpected and more than I budgeted for. Costs breakdown:

IVF Clinic: 

• Co-Insurance: $330 
• PGS Biopsy: $2,250 
• ICSI: $1,525

Meds: $1,579.55

Total for this week: $5,864.55 
Total Year to Date: $6,018.67

Costs TBD: PGS Testing - $150 per embryo + $150 Shipping

I've officially hit my max out of pocket for my insurance for the year. Even with insurance coverage, not a lot is covered. 

I had my injections training... which you would think wouldn't have been a big deal - but you'd be amazed at how much I've forgotten. It was a nice refresher! Also, all the paperwork!!! Oh my... Signing my life away with waivers and deciding what would happen to my embryos "if" such and such happened. 

They even talked to me about "family planning" and if I wanted to choose a boy/girl for transfer... I think most people expect me to say "I want a girl" considering I have two boys. But really, I just want another baby. Boy or girl. It doesn't really matter to me. I also don't know if I'm going to have options, so I don't want to get stuck on a boy/girl just this moment. 

Before the injections training, they did do a quick ultrasound to check for cysts. No cysts, I'm in the clear. But they didn't count the follicles, so I feel kind of in the dark about how many follicles I'm working with this cycle... if we go off what they found last month - there were 9. 

BOB Arrived 

Even though the week kind of sucked trying to deal with the insurance and pharmacy issues... hours and hours on the phone. (Just to note, I had a stressful week at work and worked over 50+ hours - so it sucked just that much more trying to find the time to call.) Receiving the Big ol' box of meds was... amazing! 

There's something about receiving all my meds that made this feel so real. It also made me start feeling all the feels about, "I really want another baby." I may have shed some happy... anticipatory tears... at the possibility of this potential baby. 

Piper Patch IVF Notebook

A local SMC friend, that went through IVF, developed this amazing IVF notebook!! I was so excited to receive one. I loved the package and the cover. I'm absolutely loving the notebook for tracking this IVF cycle, I feel so organized :) I really wish I would've had something like this when I was cycling the first time, it's super useful. I'll be sharing some pages from the book as I use them. 

Link to the website: https://www.piperpatch.com/

My IVF Notebook: 

My IVF Calendar

Here's my calendar spread from the Piper Patch IVF notebook: 

Next step is to stop birth control tomorrow, 10/13/18.

Feelings

My relaxation going into this cycle is completely gone and is non-existent after this week!! Dealing with the insurance, the extra costs, the pharmacy, the approvals, work deadlines, and work "issues" -- I've just about had it this week.

I'm also really feeling the "I want another baby" feelings... which worries me if the cycle doesn't turn out the way I hope it does. Would I even be able to afford another cycle at this point? I don't know if I will... But I also don't know if I won't try anyways... My heart is "all in" with adding to our family, I just have to make sure I keep my head in the game and make good decisions.

After a rough week, I'm going to try and get back into a more mellow frame of mind and relax. I'm going to try and enjoy spending time with my boys this weekend.

Here's to hoping and wishing and dreaming...