It is no mystery that fertility medications are expensive. When I went into my first round I didn’t really ask questions. I simply went through the specialty pharmacy that my insurance liked and went through there. I didn’t respond well to stims and had to refill medication out of pocket. Even with insurance, this will help save money towards your deductible.
Tips for helping you save $$ on your medications:
MANY MEDICATIONS ARE INTERCHANGEABLE
If you are just getting started all of these names may be foreign to you, but you will get to know them soon. Like so many drugs, fertility drugs have different versions made by different companies. If you are paying out of pocket, this can be key as one drug may be cheaper at your pharmacy. I was also lucky enough to get a few meds from a friend and they weren’t on my list, but I soon realized they were the same thing. My doctor told me it was no problem to mix and match, even within the same cycle.
Here are your substitutes:
- Gonal F and Follistim. Note that Follistim does come with a pen that you will need.
- Cetrotide and Ganirelix
- HCG and Pregnyl and Novadrel. This is your trigger shot so you only need one of them.
GET THOSE DRUG DISCOUNTS
The fact that more doctors don’t talk about this is a little frustrating, but I have your back. There are a few drug programs out there that help with IVF medication costs. Also, don’t be afraid to ask your doctor! We have done rounds with insurance and rounds without. For those rounds without I asked for help. REs have drug reps that come by and give them samples. They also have patients who donate drugs at the end of a round. Ask your doctor and see if you can get any. My doctor was actually quite generous one of my rounds. It never hurts to ask!
There are some cash pay pharmacies that are know for competitive prices. Many of these take insurance too. Usually they will be shipped, so just plan ahead to ensure your medications come in time. Freedom Fertility and IVFmeds.com are a few I suggest you try.
There are also drug assistance programs out there. Here are some helpful programs:
- Compassionate Care: fertilitysavings.com This program offers you savings on select medications based on your income. Savings range from 10% to 50%. Hey, even 10% off of those costs is something. Compassionate Care works with Gonal F, Cetrotide and Ovidrel. Now when you are thinking back to my first point above you can see how switching out a few of those drugs might be worth it. Simply go to the website and apply. Once approved you will submit your receipts and they will reimburse you the difference.
Omnitrope Discount Card: www.omnitrope.com This is a huge one. If you are taking Omnitrope you may know that is comes to about $1,000 a vial. This discount card gives you one vial for free and 50% off two additional vials. It is good every 21 days so if you are someone like me who doesn’t react well to stims and always requires more medications, I order the first dose early and by the time I get started with stims I can do one more at a same discount. PRO TIP: When you apply for the card, choose an ailment at random. If it doesn’t approve you (you find out immediately) hit the back button and choose another one. Don’t choose the one that is most likely (hint, hint). I got this tip from my pharmacist and she said they do it all the time. She saved me $2,000 with this tip!
Reunite Rx: www.reuniterx.com. This program covers Follistim, Ganirelix and Pregnyl. It is for customers who are cash pay and does require income disclosure (1040) statements. You also need to get your medications from one of their approved locations.
Good Rx: Good Rx is an app that you can download that compares drug prices. Simply type in the drug and compare costs. I also suggest you call your local specialty pharmacies to compare. I called 3 in my area and saved over $1,000.
Good Luck! I hope this helps you save some money and take some stress out of the process!
