NIAW #FlipTheScript
It's that time of year again when we shine a light on the disease called infertility. Welcome to National Infertility Awareness Week. I know I'm a little late to the game in posting, but I couldn't let this week go by without contributing to raising awareness on this issue.
This year the theme is Flip The Script. You may be asking yourself, what does that mean? Flipping the script is all about changing how we talk about infertility. I know I've said this before but 1 in 8 families are impacted by infertility. You guys, 1 in 8. Someone you know has been impacted by this disease whether you are aware or not. Many suffer in silence, we did for so many years before I finally found my voice in this community and shared our story. You know what makes me really sad, many of these families could have the children they dream of if we could just make a few changes in how we treat infertility and that's where #flipthescript becomes so important.
One of the biggest roadblocks in treating infertility is money. Insurance treats this disease like it's a choice. If insurance has coverage it almost always has a maximum lifetime coverage...for example my insurance was $5,000. You might be thinking wow that's a lot...that doesn't even cover the cost of getting diagnosed for most couples. A typical IUI in MN costs somewhere between $1,500 and $3,000 a try and a typical IVF when adding in the cost of medication (which by the way is also typically NOT covered by insurance) is around $20,000-$25,000 a try. Here's another little known fact, most couples need between 2-3 rounds of IVF before doctors really know how their bodies respond to the medications and wind up with a positive pregnancy. It took 4 for us.
Another roadblock for most families is what your insurance will cover. Most employers when deciding insurance plans don't understand infertility unless they've experienced it. They think their plan has an infertility policy when in reality the carrier is picking and choosing the types of procedures they want to cover. Last year when we were in the midst of IVF 3 and 4 I called to check our coverage and was told we had a $5,000 benefit....when all of our claims were denied I called to find out what had happened and found out in the fine print that IVF was not considered a covered procedure. I'm sorry WHAT!? How could you leave off the most expensive and needed coverage in our plan. This needs to end!
Infertility is a disease, not a choice. I did not choose to have PCOS, endometriosis and a blocked fallopian tube. My husband did not choose to suffer from an autoimmune disease that wreaked havoc on his fertility. Families do not choose this, it's a disease just like cancer or the common cold and so why does insurance get to choose to say no and deny coverage for these families that need it. This is where raising awareness about infertility has become so important. We need to speak up and be heard.
Talk to your employer, ask them about what's covered even if you don't need it, someone in your organization does and may be too fragile right now to speak for themselves. Get involved in the conversation online-resolve is an amazing organization bringing nationwide awareness on this issue. This year they are asking us all to take a pledge. To pledge to help bring awareness on this super important issue. I urge to you take that pledge, simply visit https://infertilityawareness.org and click on the big box that says Take the Pledge. It takes 30 seconds to pledge I promise!
Rob and I will always be touched by this disease. Even though we have 2 little miracles that will be making their debut in 6 short weeks our hearts will never fully be healed from the years of fighting for a family. Years of tears, financial strain, questioning our faith, dealing with feelings of jealousy, not to mention the hundreds of needles, medications and invasive procedures it took to get to this place. Having a baby will never be as easy as coming off of birth control for us. We will always have months of meds, thousands of dollars invested in each try with the hope of it working.
We all can be a part of flipping the script. Take the pledge, advocate for change- together we can make a difference.
