Accessing Fertility Treatment – How to Find the Right Clinic

Choosing the right fertility treatment clinic for you is arguably one of the most important and potentially overwhelming decisions you’ll make on your fertility journey. You probably already plan to take your time and research each resource available to you in your area, but depending on where you live, that process may seem daunting without the tools to help you narrow down your search.  

The infertility specialist you choose should ultimately depend on your specific needs and resources. You’ll want to vet your fertility clinic, prepare questions for your initial consultation, and consider getting a second opinion from another clinic before you make a final decision. 

Before you start looking   

If you live in a bigger city, it’s likely you have a host of infertility treatment clinics and fertility treatment options available to you. Before you begin, you’ll want to gather your resources and decide where to start looking based on your list of needs and priorities. Having a clear idea of what your resources and priorities are will help you narrow down which clinics may be the best fit for your needs. 

Assess your financial resources 

Before you can start narrowing down your list of potential fertility clinics, it can help to know exactly what financial resources you have available. Building a financial plan based on your budget and researching what types of benefits your insurance provider covers will help you avoid getting caught with unexpected bills. Clinics vary in how much they charge, espeically when it comes to consultation fees and lab work. Knowing how much you can afford to spend on treatment, tests, and medication can help you avoid clinics that are out of your price range. 

Check your insurance coverage 

The Affordable Care Act does not define infertility treatment as one of the ten essential benefits requiring coverage by health insurance providers. That said, some of these regulations vary state by state, and many insurance plans do cover some types of infertility treatment. Be sure to check with your insurance company to see what fertility treatment options it may cover. If you have fertility benefits as part of your insurance, it will be important to find out which treatment options are covered, how much is covered, and which clinics are covered in your network. This information can help narrow down the clinic that will best fit your needs.  

Research ART success rates  

New assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments are becoming more common and accessible. Fertility treatment centers specializing in assisted reproductive technology, including facilities that handle eggs and embryos, report their data to the CDC every year. This can be a valuable source of information, but there are a few factors to consider when gaging the success rate of a clinic. Clinics that don’t accept patients who are over 40, or only accept a limited number of patients annually will report higher success rates than clinics with a much larger roster of patients. 

The Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology is a non-profit special interest group that works to establish and maintain standards for ART across the US and can help you vet clinics. You can check if the clinics you’re looking at are members and verify their live birth rates. Having this information on hand can help you find out if a clinic only accepts patients with specific characteristics like age, weight, or minimum AMH levels. 

Assess your fertility priorities 

Your end goal is to have kids, but it’s not uncommon to have specific priorities in how you achieve this goal. For some parents, it may be essential that the child have a genetic link to both parents, which may necessitate embryo cryopreservation and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Whereas others may be concerned about passing on genetic disorders, which requires access to pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT). Fertility centers and clinics offer many types of services to treat you, but you’ll want to choose a facility that specializes in the areas that address your specific needs and carry you through the entirety of your fertility journey. 

Research clinics in your area 

For many people, finding the right fertility treatment option isn’t as difficult as choosing the right clinic. Determining which center is right for you and your needs can be a challenge when you have so many available to you. It’s also important to bear in mind that some clinics will have patient waitlists that can delay the start of treatment by weeks or even months. When deciding on a clinic, you will have to consider how long you’re willing to wait. Using the information you’ve gathered about your insurance, financial resources, and fertility treatment needs, you can narrow down your search even further by looking at these other criteria listed by the CDC: 

Types of services offered  

The CDC provides a list of resources each infertility treatment center offers based on the data they provide each year. Depending on your needs, you may look for the types of medication, surgery, or assisted reproductive technology treatment each facility provides. It is important to note that not all out-of-pocket tests will be listed in the CDC’s ART clinic data. Additionally, some clinics may choose not to have their data listed. 

Patient characteristics  

For each infertility treatment center you look into, consider patients’ ages, diagnoses, and the types of treatment they use. This will tell you whether they have experience working with patients who have the same or similar needs as you. 

Success rates  

Every infertility specialist in the United States is required to report their success rates to the CDC. Look at the various treatments each facility provides and the success rate of each to help you determine which facility in your area is right for you. As mentioned previously, success rates are influenced by the number of patients a clinic treats in a year, as well as whether the clinic only accepts patients with characteristics that lead to more positive outcomes.  

Clinic size 

The size of a fertility treatment center may or may not matter to you, but you will want to look for a facility where each patient is offered the best fertility support for their needs. The size of a clinic may dictate whether there is a waitlist and how long it may be before you can start your treatment process. Consider whether or not your clinic provides new assisted reproductive technologies you may be interested in, and make sure they have a solid record of success. 

Proximity 

If you live in a rural area, you may need to travel to find a fertility treatment facility that fits your needs. Otherwise, consider choosing a clinic in your area. Keep in mind that you will likely have very frequent appointments to see your infertility specialist, often first thing in the morning, multiple times a week, and even on consecutive days. You may want to avoid the additional cost and stress of travel while you’re in the midst of a treatment like IVF. 

Choosing your doctor 

Choosing your infertility specialist is as important as choosing the right fertility treatment center. You want to work with someone you’re able to develop a healthy working relationship with because you will be seeing this person in potentially high-stress situations. During your initial consultation, consider whether or not the doctor’s communication style fits your own. You want to work with someone you trust.  

Before going into the clinic, look at reviews of the different fertility specialists that work in the clinic you plan to visit. If you know anyone who was a previous patient at the clinic, consider talking with them about their treatment protocol. Take your time as you work through this process, and don’t be afraid to change your mind if a doctor doesn’t seem like a good fit for you. 

Questions to ask during consultations 

After all your research in choosing the best fertility support, you’ll want to prepare questions to help you to narrow down your options. Start by asking questions like these in your next consultation:  

• What procedures does this clinic offer? 
• What types of donor or surrogacy options are available? 
• What procedures do they recommend for your needs? 
• What services do they offer beyond basic fertility treatment? 
• Does the clinic specialize in a particular type of new assisted reproductive technology? 
• Are eggs stored onsite, or is it outsourced to another storage facility? 

You may have found the answers to some of these questions already, but seeing how each infertility specialist addresses your concerns and answers your questions can give you a lot of insight into how they will communicate with you and handle your fertility needs. 

Get a second opinion  

As you begin this process, plan to check in with a few different fertility treatment centers and doctors before making a final decision. Fertility treatment is a long process and a highly personal experience. You’ll be working closely with your fertility team for several months and you may be experiencing a lot of stress, so take your time to choose the place that’s right for you. Community resources like Resolve can help you find advice and support from people who have already been through this process and who can answer questions you have about how to choose the right clinic for you.