Can We Talk About Money

A fellow advocate in the fertility field recently caught some flak for talking about the sacred cow of money as it relates to fertility treatment. After all, the doctor asked her, "How can you put a price tag on a baby?"

Ahhh...to have the freedom of living a life of luxury, free from such petty worries as to actual dollars. If only we all could have gone to medical school.

But alas, we didn't and the rest of us mere mortals do have to talk about money.I’m all for discussing money as openly and honestly as possible when it comes to fertility care. I truly wish this was not necessary. But, most patients are financially responsible for at least some (if not all) the cost of their fertility treatments. We all wish we could say money doesn’t matter and the sky’s the limit when it comes to family building, but this is not the case for the vast majorities of families experiencing infertility. It’s the truth, and it should not something about which any of us should be ashamed.

However, there are still clinics that do not want to mention money, and many patients feel very uncomfortable bringing up what they can and cannot realistically afford to their health care providers. Everyone has a different view on money so one should not assume what works for one family will work for others.

But for patients, you have got to be able to ask the hard questions and be frank about your resources – in terms of time, money, energy and emotions.

It’s up to you to protect yourself.