Will Missouri Become #16?

Until this affected me I never thought about insurance coverage for fertility testing, diagnosis and treatment - like I’m sure many don’t.  I always assumed if its health related, your health insurance will cover it. Boy was I naive.  In the United States ONLY 15 states currently require insurance companies to cover the cost of fertility treatments.

I also never realized how much your medical bill could be “marked up”.  For instance, when I had the HSG procedure done the cost for just the surgery (even though I didn’t have surgery), not the Dr’s fee, was $1337.  I asked them to submit the bill to insurance to see what they would say and they actually did cover $70 of the bill. So I’m thinking my portion of the bill will be the remaining $1237, but it wasn’t. When the bill came it was for only $562, the other $705 was “adjusted” by the hospital. WOW!

While doing some research about how to get the beautiful state of Missouri to cover fertility treatments I came across the Resolve website (National Infertility Association). They have so much information; including health care coverage, links to contacts and how you can help change the law. This year, a few Missouri State Representatives tried to get a bill to pass (HB 1719) that would require Missouri to have this coverage, however it was voted down. I was shocked and saddened by this so yes I did write a letter to Jay Nixon, Claire Mc Caskill, Roy Blunt and Lacy Clay ( I also emailed a few of the State Representatives as well, but didn’t want to bog you down with names). I’m sure it’ll go into the trash can but at least I made an effort right? If you are interested in sending them an email, just click on their name and send them and email telling them how you feel. Click here for a sample letter.

I case you were wondering how Missouri ranked, here is there scorecard. More info can be found here.

Infertility Awareness Ribbon Tattoo

I’m hoping that, not just for myself but for all families who have ever struggled, that this becomes standard across the board, not just in 15 states.

Praying for Baby B!

Jacki