| As you know,
the major risk with IVF is a financial risk - you may
end up spending a lot of money without getting pregnant.
Moreover, this is an "open-ended expense" because
you can never be sure which cycle which work. We are willing
to share that risk with you because we are so confident
that we can get you pregnant, if you meet our criteria
! This is why we offer a Money Back / Shared Risk payment
option to selected patients.
Our goal is to help infertile couples create their
family without having to worry about the financial burden
IVF imposes. We can offer such a program, because our
skills and expertise allow us to deliver a high IVF
delivery rate.
The concept of a “Shared Risk for IVF”
was analyzed by the American Society for Reproductive
Medicine (ASRM) which stated that this type of program
is ethical. We offer Shared Risk as an alternative option
but do not try to persuade patients to participate.
We advise everyone considering this option to weigh
the benefits of this program versus the traditional
fee for service.
How does the Shared Risk Program
work?
You simply pay the treatment fees for 4 cycles up front.
( This works out to US $ 12000 for 4 IVF cycles ; and
US $ 14000 for 4 ICSI cycles. This is how much most US
clinics charge for one cycle !)
If you get pregnant within these 4 cycles, we have
earned the fee. ( A pregnancy is defined as one which
crosses 12 weeks of gestation). In the event the attempts are unsuccessful,
the entire fee is refunded. This
means that you either get pregnant , or your money back
! Most importantly, you also have peace of mind
that you gave IVF treatment your best shot. This option
also reduces stress levels, because you are prepared
for the fact that it may take more than one IVF cycle
to achieve a pregnancy, which is much more realistic.
It also helps us to maximise your pregnancy rates, because
we learn exactly how your body responds to the treatment.
It also allows you to make more efficient use of time
because it improves the pace at which you proceed with
treatment. If you pay cycle per cycle, you will have
long debates as to when to do the next one. “Wait
three months, lets try on our own again and if that
doesn’t work, we’ll try another round.”
Time is often critical in IVF treatment, and the shared
risk option helps you to make the commitment to doing
a reasonable number of cycles in a defined period of
time.
Many of our patients find that the shared risk option
decreases both their financial stress ( since the
expenditure is capped); as well as their emotional
stress ( since you don't need to get on the
roller-coaster of single attempt IVF cycles which are
done on an ad-hoc basis, and you already have a safety
net in place).
How does this work from a financial point of view ?
It just means that the patients who do get pregnant subsidise the treatment of those who don't !
Is it cost-effective ? Yes - a baby is priceless !
You can do these 4 IVF cycles when you please, over
a period of 2 years.
This fee covers all your medical expenses, treatments,
tests and procedures ! The only thing it does not cover
is the cost of your medications, which is approximately
US $ 800 per cycle.
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