Posted by Lisa Rosenthal on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 @ 06:19 AM
Some of us are lucky enough to live in states with mandates concerning infertility and treatment. Some of us are lucky enough to have insurance that covers infertility treatment, regardless of a state mandate.
Some of us are lucky enough to have health insurance at all.
Many people in this country do not have health insurance and you might be surprised at who they are. They are new college graduates, they are people who make minimum wage, they are people with pre-existing health problems, they are people who have lost their jobs.
Paying for infertility treatment, whether through a state mandate, health insurance or out of pocket is something that not all people can afford. This probably reads as though I am stating the incredibly, perfectly, unbelievable obvious. Not everyone can afford infertility treatment.
What if you couldn't? What if I couldn't? What if it were completely out of reach to afford infertility treatment? No state mandate, no health insurance, no credit card to max out, no parents or family members to borrow from, no bank loans?
Infertility makes us feel so desperate in so many ways. When help is out of reach because of lack of financial resources or lack of insurance coverage, it's a whole different level of desperation and sense of failure.
If you are one of those people, please respond to this blog. If you don't want your comments posted, just let me know and I will not post them.
If you are one of those people who has coverage, health insurance or some other financial means to pay for infertility treatment, you have reason to feel some sense of gratitude, even in the midst of the struggles with infertility.
Does this turn infertility treatment into a possibility only for some people? Only for people with enough money or a certain type of job? Should affordable infertility treatment be available to everyone? Should it be up to an employer whether they offer infertility coverage?
These are questions that are being asked every day and will continue to be asked as health reform moves forward.
Ultimately, the question also becomes whether affordable infertility treatment is elitist.
What do you think?