I am writing this blog still fuming mad at my last telephone conversation with my OLD infertility clinic. I am in pure disbelief at the amount of money they keep trying to pull out of me and my husband.
When we first started going to them I would make excuses for this behavior because I didn't know there was any other way to go about infertility. I didn't question their prices, I understood that the treatments are expensive and elective. My husband would say things under his breath when bills from them would arrive in the mail and I would give him all the reasons why their standards and practices were right. That was until I found My IVF Alternative and started researching the high cost and profit margins of IVF in the United States.
Before I found IVF Alternative I was already putting into motion the plan to have IVF done here in Seattle with Seattle Reproductive Medicine (SRM). I even had my IVF consultation with my doctor set up, the day before Thanksgiving. Appointment made and my husband even took the day off work. After we decided to go overseas for treatment I still wanted to keep my consultation here in the states just to ask questions in person.
Please put this into perspective too: I have been a patent of SRM for over a year and a half. A rough estimate of money spent there would be around 9K or more.
So I called them up and asked them if they were going to charge me to sit with my doctor and talk about IVF. The clinic calls it "next step" planning. Why am I even surprised they said YES! Of course they are going to charge me to talk to my doctor about my next step that would put $20,000 in their pockets without even blinking? Charge me more money to be able to charge me more money! I understand a doctors time is valuable, that taking a half an hour to talk to their client about their future reproductive needs takes focus and care. But when I have already spent so much, had surgery there, cried there in their arms, got to know all the nurses.. you are going to want even more money from me!?! And you know what, if I didn't know any better (like before) I would of paid. Because like I have said before, how do you put a price on fertility... and they know that!
I basically told them to kiss my ass and forward my medical records.
YES YES YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!! You tell them. That is awesome. You would think that since most IF treatments are not covered by insurance, prices would have dropped due to competition, but NO. RE's are some of the richest SOBs out there due to the fact that patients are essentially blackmailed emotionally into paying whatever it takes to get a baby. They know this and sure do use it to their advantage.
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