Insurance coverage influences multiple births

When parents realize that the cost of in vitro fertilization can hover around $15,000 or more, they may decide that implanting more eggs to increase their chances of pregnancy is cost effective, especially if insurance doesn’t cover any of the costs. Foregoing single egg transfer (SET) increases the birth of twins and triplets, sometimes more. According to a new study from Yale School of Medicine, offering insurance coverage to offset the cost of IVF sways parents toward SET and away from the costs and health risks of multiple births.

15 states provide infertility insurance

Published in Fertility and Sterility, the researchers found that 15 states provide insurance coverage for infertility. Those states have a significantly lower incidence of multiple births which means large savings on the cost of maternal and fetal care associated with high risk, multiple babies. Combined with the cost of preterm birth, those dollars hit $26. billion annually.

The Centers for Disease Control and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology provided the data. States that do not provide insurance coverage for IVF have higher numbers of pregnancies, live birth rates, twin and triplets because more embryos are transplanted. In states with insurance coverage, there are fewer multiple pregnancies of all kinds.

“By reducing the patient’s financial burden, state mandates may lead to a reduction in embryos transferred,” said first author J. Ryan Martin, MD assistant professor at Yale. “Patients and insurance companies will both benefit from a reduction in multiple pregnancies.”

Source: Fertility and Sterility, ScienceDaily