Shared Risk Refund Plan for Egg Recipient

OVERVIEW

The ART Fertility Program Egg Recipient Shared Risk Refund Plan is designed for those couples who are considering utilizing an anonymous egg donor. Egg recipient cycles put a couple at risk of expending financial resources that may be necessary for other options such as adoption. Unlike some other centers, our Egg Recipient Shared Risk Refund Plan guarantees that, should a qualifying couple not achieve a live birth, the refundable portion of the Plan fees will be returned so that alternatives can be pursued.

The American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) has rendered a favorable opinion toward SRPs provided that full disclosure is given to the patients and conservative guidelines for embryo replacement are observed. This plan does not guarantee success, but allows many couples to achieve a live birth through egg recipient/IVF for a cost similar to or less than adoption. Due to the return of the refundable portion of the plan fee, the options such as adoption remain possible for those who do not achieve a pregnancy. The Plan does not guarantee a successful outcome, but is a unique plan that limits the financial risk if a live birth is not achieved.

PLAN ELIGIBILITY

In order to be eligible for the Egg Recipient Shared Risk Refund Plan, a couple must meet all the requirements of our regular fee-for-services egg recipient IVF program and must have undergone no more than one previous unsuccessful IVF cycle. Additionally, the couple must not have insurance coverage for egg recipient/in vitro fertilization. The following criteria must be met:

FEMALE REQUIREMENTS

  • Recipient must complete her cycles before her 50th birthday.
  • Donor must have BMI ≤ 30 at time of cycle.
  • Donor must have “normal” ovarian reserve.
  • Donor must have antral count of 10 or greater.
  • Donor must be less than or equal to age 32.
  • No contraindication to IVF treatment.
  • Recipient should have absence of hydrosalpinges; must be removed if no successful pregnancy after first cycle.
  • Must have normal uterus as determined by HSG (hysterosalpingogram) and SIS (sonar infusion study).
  • Recipient must have BMI ≤ 40 at time of cycle.

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MALE REQUIREMENTS

  • Male partner must be 55 years of age or younger.
  • If low sperm parameters, sperm must be adequate for ICSI.
  • Males are eligible if TESA is indicated (must have normal FSH, LH and testosterone levels).
  • Other tests may be requested if indicated.

COUPLE REQUIREMENTS

  • Must be non-smokers.
  • Must inseminate all eggs.
  • Must accept embryo cryopreservation.
  • Must agree to/accept embryo transfer recommendation of the Program, based on ASRM guidelines.

CYCLE CRITERIA

  • Endometrium of recipient should be at least 0.9 cm thickness, triple layer.
  • Egg donor must have at least 4 follicles between 14 and 18mm on day of HCG and estradiol ≥1000 pg/mL.

CANCELLED CYCLES

If the donor’s cycle is cancelled after the start of ovulation induction medicines but prior to egg retrieval, the recipient couple is responsible for the donor medication costs, recruitment, screening, education, insurance, and portion of donor compensation. The ART Fertility Program will absorb the costs of donor monitoring for anonymous donors only.

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PLAN COSTS

The cost to participate in the Egg Recipient Shared Risk Refund Plan for a patient using donor eggs is $16,000 ($10,500 refundable/$5,500 non-refundable) if she meets Plan criteria. Additional costs of $10,000 per cycle include: 1) recruitment and screening costs of donor; 2) donor medications; 3) donor compensation; 4) donor insurance policy. If outside monitoring is required for Egg Recipient Shared Risk Refund Plan, costs will be paid by the recipient independent of Refund Plan costs.

If you are interested in this Plan and meet the criteria, you must notify our office and request a financial consultation before your cycle starts to be eligible.

The following is a list of inclusions and exclusions of the Plan:

Services Include

  • Retrieval
  • Fertilization
  • ICSI
  • Assisted Embryo Hatching
  • Transfer (FET if embryos cryopreserved)
  • Cryopreservation storage of cryopreserved embryos at ART Fertility Program for up to 12 months after retrieval
  • Egg donor monitoring costs

Exclusions

  • Initial office visit (consultation, physical exam, semen analysis, SIS)
  • Prescreening (laboratory- infection screens and cryo screens) for recipient couple
  • Medication for egg recipient
  • Non-ART consultations
  • Hospitalizations/complications
  • Male services/facility cost (e.g. SPA, SCSA, TESA, PESA)
  • Embryo storage beyond the first year
  • Pregnancy testing
  • Sperm freezing for cycle
  • PGD testing

Many insurance companies may cover the costs of egg recipient screening.

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PLAN TERMS

The Plan fee consists of a non-refundable and a refundable portion. The refundable portion of the Plan fee will be held in the couple’s account with the ART Fertility Program. Upon confirmation of a live birth, ART will apply the entire refundable portion 60-90 days following the live birth. If, after up to two or three completed IVF cycles no pregnancy has resulted (and all available embryos have been transferred), the refundable portion will be returned to the couple. After each completed IVF cycle, the couple and physician meet and determine together the appropriateness of proceeding with a repeat attempt. In other words, both ART and the couple retain the right to terminate the Plan at any time (again, following the transfer of all available embryos) for any reason without any penalty.

ART reserves the right to disqualify a patient based on previous poor endometrial stimulation. The Plan usually takes no longer than eight (8) months and must be completed within twelve (12) months. Each IVF cycle corresponds to an ovarian stimulation treatment followed by the non-surgical aspiration of the eggs, their fertilization in the embryology lab followed by the transfer of all fertilized eggs or embryos, (if any) to the recipient. If pregnancy is not achieved, the couple will meet with the physician to discuss a “frozen” embryo transfer (if applicable), or a repeat IVF cycle (after all frozen embryos if any, have been transferred) unless ≤ 2 blastocysts remain. The physician may require additional testing, if results of cycle suggest other factors that may be impairing IVF success.

The Plan does not cover the cost of procedures not performed at ART facilities or contracted services. Such additional costs may include, but are not limited to, hospital and physician fees associated with x-rays, surgery required to evaluate or treat the uterus and complications resulting from treatment of pregnancy. Also excluded from the SRP are the costs of fertility drugs as well as that of the monitoring of the patient’s response to ovarian stimulation.  

PLAN TERMINATION

Most patients who do not achieve a live birth will be recommended to proceed with a repeat attempt. The main reason not to do so would include poor quality endometrium, psychological contraindications or poor patient compliance.

The ART Fertility Program retains the right to terminate a patient’s participation after each completed cycle. If no pregnancy occurs and ART elects to terminate the Egg Recipient Shared Risk Refund Plan, ART Fertility Program will refund the sum paid minus the fee-for-service payment at that time. If the patient chooses to terminate participation without completing all cycles, the patient will be charged the fee-for-service price for all services performed.

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