(Bloomberg) -- This is the second episode of the Prognosis: Misconception podcast series.
Listen to the first episode here, and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Fertility treatment in the US is expensive. The average IVF cycle in the the US costs about $12,000, about one-third the annual median income across the country. That figure doesn't take into account add-on procedures and drugs that can make the price far steeper. Most crucially in terms of money, time and emotion, one round of treatment often isn’t enough. The majority of Americans don’t have insurance coverage for fertility treatment. While about half of large employers offered it in 2022, it’s rare among smaller companies and public insurance programs. In many cases, the technology that makes it possible to have children is least accessible to those who need it the most. But even for those lucky enough to have fertility benefits, there can be thousands of dollars in uncovered costs. As a result, many people wind up going to great lengths to find the money to start a family. They take out loans or turn to online crowdsourcing. Some hold auctions or host fundraisers. They are forced, essentially, to make what is already an emotional and exhausting period in life a highly public one as well. In episode two of Prognosis: Misconception, we meet people who have taken some creative approaches to raising money for IVF and travel to Oklahoma to check out one company that’s trying to make IVF and egg freezing more accessible for all.
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