The costs associated with fertility benefits can be confusing to understand. We break down what you need to know in this blog post.
If you’ve had conversations with fertility benefits vendors, you’ve likely experienced sticker shock about the cost of services, leaving you with questions like: what goes into the cost of fertility treatments? What does it include? Why are these benefits so costly for both you and your employees? We’ll address all these questions, and more, in this blog post.
An overview of the cost of fertility benefits
If you’re vetting fertility benefits vendors, it’s likely that you’ve had conversations with care navigation solutions that connect employees to the family-building services they need. The truth is that the services offered through these partners tend to be more expensive. Here’s why:
1. They serve as the middleman
The reason why care navigation solutions tend to be expensive is because they serve as the middlemen between the facilities and the employees. As a result, they typically end up adding 23% to 28% markups on top of the provider cost for fertility cycles, driving up costs for employers.
How Kindbody does it
Kindbody is the only fertility and family-benefits provider that owns and operates clinics. This means that we can enable employers to use their purchasing power and buy direct, reducing costs and removing unnecessary middleman markups.
2. They don’t offer virtual services
Care navigation solutions don’t offer telemedicine, which refers specifically to clinical services that can only be provided by a doctor. Not offering access to virtual appointments can drive up costs with unnecessary in-person visits.
How Kindbody does it
Kindbody is virtual first but not virtual only. This means that, if an employee is looking for a lower-cost, more accessible option, they have the option to book a virtual appointment directly with a board-certified Kindbody physician.
3. They take a fee-for-service approach
Most care navigation solutions take a fee-for-service approach to pricing. The problem with this structure is that it may end up charging for services that aren’t always necessary.
Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) is an example of this. While this form of testing is critical for enhancing outcomes, it’s actually unnecessary around 20% of the time. But you may end up covering the cost of this service anyway with a fee-for-service pricing model.
How Kindbody does it
We’ve replaced legacy fee-for-service solutions with value-based case rates and transparent pricing, avoiding excessive provider reimbursements and vendor margins.
Our value-based bundled case rates include all of the services required to complete a fertility cycle. As a result, Kindbody’s solution enables employers to obtain pricing for fertility services that are 30% below other solutions, helping your employees’ benefit dollars go further.
4. They don’t control for quality
Since care navigation solutions don’t control the end-to-end fertility care experience, that means they also can’t control for quality.
If your vendor isn’t able to ensure the best health outcomes for your employees, this may eventually lead to increased costs down the line. High-risk pregnancies, for instance, frequently lead to birth complications that cost U.S. businesses around $5.7 billion every year.
How Kindbody does it
Kindbody can help reduce overall medical spend by individualized treatment that makes sense for each patient, based on clinical diagnostics and evidence-based practices.
For example, at our signature clinics, we perform eSET (elective single embryo transfer) 98%+ of the time to minimize multiple births and optimize outcomes. As a result, Kindbody’s clinical outcome average results in a 20% higher rate of success compared to the national average.
Fertility benefits don’t have to break the bank
You don’t have to sacrifice your entire benefits budget just to be able to provide fertility care for your employees. By partnering with the right vendor who has the ability to provide transparent, controlled costs, you can save yourself (and your employees) money. Curious to learn more about what to look for in a fertility benefit? Download our eBook.
