My brother found this article on CNN Money. It’s about a couple going through IVF and the expenses involved. They offered a few tips that Shelton and I hadn’t really even thought about and thought we’d share with the rest of our little IVF club.

The four tips are as follows, but follow the above link to read the complete article.

FINANCIAL AID for Prospective Parents

1. Check your insurance for exclusions.
If your policy doesn’t mention your treatment by name and your claim is denied, you have strong grounds for an appeal. “If it’s not specifically excluded, it’s an implied inclusion,” says Pat Ferguson, an infertility medical billing expert.

2. Know what you’re entitled to.
Insurers often cover diagnostics. If you’re not reimbursed for tests, fight back. Infertility is the symptom of a medical problem, so you can make a compelling argument that testing for, say, endometriosis or fibroid tumors should be covered.

3. Carefully compare financing options.
Many infertility centers offer payment plans through third parties. Make sure you know exactly what’s covered and what’s not. Medications and pregnancy testing, for instance, are often excluded. “Shared risk” programs offer up to 100% refunds to qualified women if pregnancy is not achieved, but you may be charged twice as much for that money-back guarantee.

4. Check state laws.
Fourteen states require health insurers to cover infertility treatment (for the list, go to resolve.org, click on “Learn” and then click on “Insurance Coverage”). But there are caveats aplenty. For example, the laws don’t necessarily require employers to pay for the coverage, and all exempt self-insured plans. Before you forge ahead medically on the strength of state laws, read your policy’s fine print.