Home : IVM (in vitro maturation) : The Cost of IVM
Multi-cycle discount IVM cycles for qualified (good prognosis) candidates.
Who are good prognosis IVM candidates?
These are patients under 35 years old who have a PCO-like pattern in their ovaries. (This means they have at
least 12 small cysts 2 to 10 mm in size which are accessible for ultrasound directed harvest.) Most commonly, this is found in women in their 20s or in women with a diagnosis of PCO.
Polycystic ovaries or PCO may or may not cause symptoms. Some women with PCO will have irregular periods. Some women may cosmetically treat pimples or excess body hair. Some women may have difficulty losing weight in spite of decreased calorie intake. A PCO pattern is determined by an ultrasound examination which focuses on this feature.
These patients have a good prognosis for achieving pregnancy with IVM, because it is likely that we can
harvest a good number of eggs from them. Not all eggs will mature in the laboratory. Not all mature eggs will fertilize. IVM is less efficient (per egg) than IVF and to have a high probability of getting pregnant, it is best to get a lot of eggs.
Why are you doing this?
We believe that IVM is superior to IVF in appropriately selected patients and wish to introduce it to more patients and physicians. (To the best of our knowledge, we are the first program in Pennsylvania to have IVM pregnancies.) We also see IVM as a partial solution to one of the major problems with advanced reproductive technology, namely its high cost. We believe that IVM will play an important role in selected patients as an advanced technology between IUI and IVF with a much lower cost than IVF. It appears that for “good prognosis” patients, our pregnancy rate with IVM is similar or higher than our pregnancy rate with conventional IVF. No infertility treatments work all the time in all patients; to maximize the ability of patients to leave the program with a baby, they should be able to undertake more than one cycle.
What is included in package priced cycles?
All procedures that have IVF medical codes and are done for IVM from the egg aspiration procedure through the embryo transfer procedure are included. Our IVM packages are designed for the patient who needs an IVF procedure and does not have insurance coverage for it. Single cycle packages are discounted from the medical code-based non-package charges. The multi-cycle discount package uses a "3 for 2" approach which has an element of "shared risk" in it. The cost of the multi-cycle discount package equals two single cycle packages. If the patient gets pregnant in her first IVM cycle then she is refunded the cost of the second package. If she gets pregnant in the second cycle, then she will have received the package discount for two cycles. If she doesn't get pregnant in the second cycle, then the third cycle is free.
Are there any other costs involved?
Yes. The package price does not pay for anesthesia (provided by a separate anesthesia group) and any required cycle monitoring (a minimum of two ultrasounds). In addition, you will need the same evaluation performed for IVF to eliminate implantation or transfer problems prior to the start of the cycle. Your partner must have sperm, you must plan to undergo sperm harvesting if he has had a vasectomy, or you must plan to use donor sperm. We also require the recommended infectious disease testing. Minimal medications are also used.
Can I use my insurance coverage?
If you have coverage for IVF though an insurance with which we participate, we must bill your insurance for all the procedures done as characterized in the IVF codes. We cannot use your insurance to pay for all or part of our bundled package charge.
You can certainly use your insurance, if permitted by them, to pay for incidental charges like the IVF work-up or ultrasound exams outside of the IVM procedure even if you don’t have insurance coverage for IVF.
What if I don't have any insurance coverage?
If you are entirely self pay, this program is designed for you. The insurance industry is able to impose payment agreements on individual doctors and as a result of this the self-pay patient often pays more than insurance companies are paying when complex procedures are broken down into their medical codes. Insurance company systems are not designed to utilize package pricing. Package pricing gives self-pay individuals much more control over their costs. IVM is being offered at a low cost compared to IVF. If the pregnancy rate is taken into account, it is also inexpensive compared to lower technology therapies (like IUI), especially if male factor is involved.
Can I still do IVM if I don’t qualify as a “good prognosis candidate”?
Yes, but there are may be better approaches available to help you get pregnant. We will be happy to meet with you and discuss them. We also offer other gentler variations of IVF, some of which utilize IVM techniques.