September 12, 2012

DENVER — Liz and Stephen Stuart have been trying to have a baby for four years.

Now they are going through fertility treatments at the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine in Louisville, hoping this will be the thing that gets them pregnant.

“It would mean the world,” Liz says through some tears.  “We‘ve been trying for a really long time, and it would be great to start a family together.”

Liz is going through  in vitro fertilization,  a process that will combine the couple’s eggs and sperm in a laboratory dish, then transfer the embryos to her uterus.

They are very hopeful, but admit the cost of IVF was absolutely overwhelming.

“We almost had a heart attack because it was really, really expensive,” Liz said.

Doctors say a single cycle of IVF generally ranges between $16,000 and $19,000, and some couples need several cycles to be successful.

Most insurance companies in Colorado do not pay for IVF, so the couple looked into different ways to finance it.

Some people get a loan from their bank.  Others try medical financing companies, but some of those can have high interest rates.

But the Stuarts are trying something new.

CCRM and other clinics like it, are offering a money back guarantee.  At CCRM the service is called Premier IVF.

For a flat fee women 41 and under who qualify will get six tries.

That’s three fresh cycles and three frozen cycles.

“If they are not successful in taking home a live baby at the end of that, they get their money back to pursue other options,” said Dr. Robert Gustofson at CCRM.

Doctors believe that takes away some of the stress, but the price is still a doozie!

“For us the program that we are doing is $43,500,” Liz said.  It’s a ton of money, but the Stuarts feel good about their decision.  “If it doesn’t happen the first time, we know we have a few more tries,” they said.

The Premier IVF program cannot be used in conjunction with insurance.

It’s available to patients who are paying for treatment themselves or have limited coverage.

The program offers financing through Springstone Patient Financing with rates ranging from 4% to 18%.  The Stuarts got lucky.  They got a very large unexpected tax refund, and took out a loan from their 401K.

Now they are hoping a baby is in their near future.

Kim Posey

Fox 31 News