Shady Grove Fertility Launches Assure Fertility, an Affordable Financial Option for Women Interested in Proactive Egg Freezing
Rockville, MD (PRWEB) January 22, 2014 -- As the age of marriage and childbirth increases, so is women’s interest in egg freezing as a means to halt the reduction in fertility potential associated with advancing age.
Egg freezing (or vitrification) is a cutting edge medical technology that allows women to have multiple eggs retrieved from their ovaries during peak fertility years and stored for future use to establish a pregnancy when circumstances allow. This option has been available to women in the United States since the early 2000s and since then egg freezing techniques and success rates have been steadily improving. In October 2012, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine lifted the experimental designation, making the procedure more mainstream.
“Ideally, women should consider freezing their eggs before 38,” explains Joseph Doyle, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist at Shady Grove Fertility. “It may be premature to freeze before age 30, but after 38, egg quality and quantity decline, which can impact pregnancy outcomes when frozen eggs are later used to achieve a pregnancy."
While the medical and technological aspects of egg freezing have improved significantly, insurance coverage for the procedure has not kept pace.
The costs, not including medications, can range from $7,500 - $12,000, per freeze, varying by geography, and not including medications. Additionally, to achieve the number of frozen eggs clinically recommended, a large number of women might need to undergo more than one cycle, and therein lies the conundrum between success and cost.
This led to the creation of two new egg freezing payment options at Shady Grove Fertility - the Assure Fertility program and the Egg Freezing Discount. These are the first programs created to help patients receive financial support for egg freezing.
Assure Fertility enables qualified women to pay a single fee of $12,500 to cover the costs associated with freezing at least twenty mature eggs, or up to four treatment cycles, whichever comes first. The Egg Freezing Discount benefits those who might need multiple treatment cycles, but do not qualify for Assure Fertility. Women undergoing the egg freezing process at Shady Grove Fertility can also access special package pricing for medications, which may or may not be covered under their insurance plan, but can add to the cost of care.
“The intention behind the development of these programs is to ensure women are able to make the decision to preserve their fertility by alleviating anxiety about uncertain financial costs,” says Dr. Joseph Doyle.
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Dr. Doyle is available for interviews. Contact Courtney Cohen at 202-997-4515.
About Dr. Joseph Doyle: Joseph Doyle, MD received his medical degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, in Boston, MA. Dr. Doyle then completed a 3-year fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Massachusetts General Hospital. During his training, Dr. Doyle received several teaching and clinical excellence awards. His research efforts focused on oocyte cryopreservation, and he presented numerous times at national meetings and has multiple publications. He also has a specific interest in healthcare delivery, which he developed through seminars in conjunction with Harvard Business School. Dr. Doyle is a member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, for which he has developed education modules and served as an ad hoc reviewer, and the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.
About Shady Grove Fertility: Shady Grove Fertility is America’s largest and most progressive fertility center performing over 6,000 IVF cycles, including over 1,000 egg donation cycles, and an equal number of ovulation induction and IUI cycles annually. Twenty-eight reproductive endocrinologists as well as PhD scientists, geneticists and 480 highly specialized staff care for patients in 17 full-service offices and 4 satellite locations throughout the Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC metropolitan areas. SGF offers a comprehensive range of fertility treatment options including Ovulation Induction, IUI, IVF, and Donor Egg as well as resources to comprehensively address patients’ needs - medical, emotional, and financial. For patient convenience IVF retrievals and transfers are now performed at three regional IVF Centers in Rockville, MD, Baltimore, MD and Chesterbrook, PA.
Courtney Cohen, Shady Grove Fertility, http://www.shadygrovefertility.com, +1 (202) 997-4515, [email protected]
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