One couple facing medical and financial roadblocks to having a baby will receive a grant for a free cycle of in vitro fertilization (IVF) through a program called the Gift of Hope. Eligibility requires that couples earn less than $100,000 per year, have no insurance coverage for infertility, and that IVF is medically necessary to conceive.
Applications are open to Louisiana couples and are available to download from FertilityAnswers.com. The deadline to apply is April 24, 2020.
One in eight American couples struggle with infertility each year, yet only a quarter to a third of healthcare insurers offer coverage for infertility treatment. While Louisiana law prohibits the exclusion of insurance coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility, it does not require insurers to cover fertility drugs, inseminations, IVF, or other assisted reproductive techniques. This leaves the vast majority of infertile couples struggling with costs not covered by insurance.
“We started the program as a way to help Louisiana couples undergo IVF who could not otherwise afford it,” said Dr. John Storment, medical director and founder of Fertility Answers. “So many couples we see with difficulties conceiving need this procedure to build their families. But because the cost is so high and very few insurance policies cover it, low income earning couples often have to put off building their families. We feel strongly that all couples should have the hope to build their families, no matter their financial situation or insurance coverage.”
Gift of Hope donors include Storment, Dr. Susan Conway, and Dr. Neil Chappell, infertility specialists at Fertility Answers and Ovation Fertility. Since 2006, there have been 21 Louisiana couples chosen for the Gift of Hope Grant with seven babies born and one on the way. The combined value of donated services for one Gift of Hope IVF treatment cycle is estimated at $15,000-$18,000.
With two full-service clinics in Lafayette and Baton Rouge, Fertility Answers serves infertile couples throughout Louisiana.
More information about the Gift of Hope can be found at www.FertilityAnswers.com.