Last Year, This Time...

Last year, this time... I was sinking in to motherhood and celebrating my 1 year anniversary of IVF cycle (the non BCP part)! I started my Lupron on 7/2/2009. Those dates seemed so important last year and I could tell them without having to look at my blog timeline. Those dates always will be important, but today I have toddling proof(s) around me 24/7, so I am less sentimental about it.

This year, this time... I am waiting for my insurance/pharmacy to send me my BCP. Our insurance changed in May and they want us to go through an online pharmacy! It has taken 2+ weeks between my OB's office (lazy) staff and the "pharmacy" already... and they are still processing my Rx. Long story short, I spoke to my OB and requested him to send in my BCP Rx so that I can get my lovely aunt back! So, as soon as the pills arrive, I am back to an infertile taking BCPs.

The Darn Insurance

We got a call from our RE's finance department saying that a part of our IVF was not being paid for by our insurance! According to our insurance plane "one" IVF was covered! We had a pre-approval and everything! It seems ER, fertilization and ET codes were not covered. WHAT Besides These 3 main things consist of an IVF!?! We have a freakin 7.4k bill to fight 16 months after the procedure!

Fun with Insurance!

I know there are quite a few people around here whose insurance does not cover IF treatment and we are fortunate that ours covers the amount it does. But they really make me skip a heartbeat once in a while!

I almost started crying at my local pharmacy today! I went in to pick up my Prometrium and Metformin and I was told that I cannot get my Prometrium till June 12th. I was like what the heck (I almost felt like they were taking "this" away from me), I really need it now! The pharmacist mentioned that my Prometrium quota for the month had been met and the insurance wouldn’t cover anything more. So, I asked how much it would cost to pay out of pocket. 600+ freaking $$$ for 50 something pills! I explained that I take the medication 4 times a day (Rx’ed by my RE) and there is no way 50 pills would last me a month. So she decided to look in to it. It seems my insurance will cover 2 Prometrium per day… she asked me to call my doctor, who would then communicate with my insurance. In the interim, I decided to pick up at least 3 days worth of supply for $85… just in case this was going to take some time. After leaving the pharmacy, I called my nurse and left her a message. After exchanging a few phone calls (between the nurse, insurance and myself), the nurse told me that she has taken care of the issue and it would take 3-5 days for the approval for the increased dosage! She mentioned that I could stop by and pick up some different brand of progesterone supplement that they have at the clinic. I might do that on Monday or just go buy some more out of pocket for continuity sake!

While I was talking with the nurse, she was not negative, but I could sense that she was trying to tell me that lets pull through this coming Tuesday (when I have my b/w and u/s) and then see how things go with the insurance and Prometrium… as in I might not need the Prometrium after Tuesday!!! I have been doing okay for the last 4 days (trying to stay strong, positive and hopeful)… but this just hit me below the belt! I know my HCG is low (though it has tripled once) and we are still not sure about the viability… but I want this baby, I really want this child of ours! I hope I can stay P! I want time to fly by and want Tuesday to be here right now. I hope I can stay strong on Tuesday! My weekend is supposed to be super busy, so hopefully I will pull though this extended 2ww!

$ Insurance $

If you think you might have any fertility issue, make sure you get a fertility coverage… it’s worth the extra money you might have to pay! Diagnostic work can go up to a couple of thousand $ depending upon your situation! Medications, monitoring and procedures are expensive and can add up. IUI’s cost up to $5,000 and IVF’s cost up to $15,000 (depending upon where you live/RE). Double check your insurance for the exact coverage, log every conversation and keep track of your bills/invoices. With all the co-pays, things still add up! Fortunately my insurance at least covers 4 Clomid cycles, 3 IUI cycles and 2 IVF cycles!