Well, I was on my husband's plan, through his work, but they've just made it quite expensive for me to continue that way, so I'm researching GHC and Blue Cross/Blue Shield individual plans
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I believe that GHC just (finally, after an intense amount of badgering and letter writing from their members) agreed to open coverage of the Madison Birth Center after the first of the year. You might want to call and ask about that.
In the past two years, I've had both Anthem (BCBS) and GHC, and while Anthem was "cheaper," (PPO, 80%, ~$100/mo) and allowed me to go where I wanted, GHC (~$135/mo) is far superior as far as comprehensive care and cost management.
That said, GHC doesn't cover fertility treatments (at least our plan doesn't, but it does cover _infertility_ treatments, i.e. birth control and vasectomies), while Anthem did cover fertility medicine, within the limits of the deductible (~$2500, IIRC).
That said, I'm curious: you realise that you're expecting an insurance company, i.e. a collective of payments and risk management, to subsidize both your conception and birth/on-going care of a child. Given that IUI is a deliberate choice and planned action, whereas "pregnancy" can sometimes be considered an accident, I'm curious: how do you justify not taking 100% financial responsibility for your choice?
I'm honestly curious, and I'm honestly anti-"Fertility Medicine," full disclosure.
You paid those rates because you are male. Women pay about $100/month MORE than men, every month, simply because they *can* (in theory) get pregnant. So all women of a certain age, whether they want kids, have had their tubes tied, etc, are already contributing to the insurance companies
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i know of three couples for whom the answer to infertility was to adopt or foster! Seriously: my little sister was a "surprise" baby 20 years after they gave up; a friend and his very religious wife "did lots of practice" (their religion didn't allow them to consider medical assistance), and after 5 years and one foster (now adopted) child, viola! The third couple unfortunately divorced after a pregnancy- he'd had a vasectomy, they had foster kids, then she got pregnant... but there it is.
There are 8,000-10,000 children in need of foster and/or adoptive homes in _Wisconsin_.You had me thinking you were taking a reasonable approach wit:re insurance plan pricing with "I don't *expect* the insurance companies to pay, but I hope they will pay," but then lost me at "Hence my desire to actually make them pay me back for the extra insurance I've been paying since the gender discrepancy kicked in
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I'm pretty sure there's not an insurer out there that will cover IVF or IUI or any infertility treatments. It's almost 100% covered by individual payers from my experience in their billing.
I had BCBS through my past employer. As a business with 9 employees, you could say that it was a small group plan. It was fairly pricy. Considering the age range and set of pre-existing conditions of the group of employees, I would probably have been better off getting an individual plan with them. More to the point, they were weaselly about paying for anything. I spent a lot of time on the phone quarreling about billing and tracking down paperwork, mailing paperwork, signing and faxing releases, etc. Example: BCBS will not pay for birth control pills unless the employer "opts in". They do not tell the employer that they must opt in to get that benefit. [words, word, ranting, words] I was NOT PLEASED.
If the cost difference isn't huge, I'd recommend against BCBS.
Also, some insurance plans do pay for fertility meds/ treatment. WEA Trust covers many treatments options. Great lot of good that will do, as it is specific to teachers in public schools.
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That said, GHC doesn't cover fertility treatments (at least our plan doesn't, but it does cover _infertility_ treatments, i.e. birth control and vasectomies), while Anthem did cover fertility medicine, within the limits of the deductible (~$2500, IIRC).
That said, I'm curious: you realise that you're expecting an insurance company, i.e. a collective of payments and risk management, to subsidize both your conception and birth/on-going care of a child. Given that IUI is a deliberate choice and planned action, whereas "pregnancy" can sometimes be considered an accident, I'm curious: how do you justify not taking 100% financial responsibility for your choice?
I'm honestly curious, and I'm honestly anti-"Fertility Medicine," full disclosure.
Reply
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There are 8,000-10,000 children in need of foster and/or adoptive homes in _Wisconsin_.You had me thinking you were taking a reasonable approach wit:re insurance plan pricing with "I don't *expect* the insurance companies to pay, but I hope they will pay," but then lost me at "Hence my desire to actually make them pay me back for the extra insurance I've been paying since the gender discrepancy kicked in ( ... )
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If the cost difference isn't huge, I'd recommend against BCBS.
Also, some insurance plans do pay for fertility meds/ treatment. WEA Trust covers many treatments options. Great lot of good that will do, as it is specific to teachers in public schools.
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