Why your people are asking about fertility programs
As complicated as it can be to support your people when they’re expecting a child, it can be even more complex when things are not going as planned. One in eight couples (12 percent of women married to men) have difficulty getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy. Same-sex couples, single parents, and transgender parents often need additional assistance to conceive and carry a child as well.
With tremendous recent advances in reproductive medicine, people are increasingly turning to assisted reproductive technologies (ART) to help grow their families. Options can range from hormonal support to IUI, IVF and egg freezing. With all of these options available, putting together a fertility program for your people can be a complicated process. So why should you look into adding one?
60 percent of large employers offer some type of fertility benefit to their employees
How fertility benefits can help attract and retain top talent
Savvy benefits leaders look to educate and support their people in these important life moments while minimizing delays, unplanned health costs, and significant impacts on productivity. Meanwhile, employees are frequently making the quality of employer-sponsored healthcare benefits a major part of their decision to join a company. In fact, two-thirds of Americans say that healthcare benefits are more important to them than other workplace perks.
Employers have noticed this shift and, as a result, at least 60 percent of large employers with 500 or more employees offer some type of fertility benefit to their employees—54 percent provide an evaluation by an infertility specialist or reproductive endocrinologist, about a third provide drug therapy, 24 percent provide benefits for IVF treatment, and five percent offer coverage for egg freezing.
As you are deciding to add a fertility program and exploring what options are right for your people, here is some helpful information from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine that can help you in your decision-making:
- Infertility is not just a woman’s problem. Approximately one-third of infertility is attributed to the female partner, one-third is attributed to the male partner, and one-third is caused by a combination of problems in both partners or is unexplained.
- IVF is expensive, but doesn’t account for the majority of fertility treatments. In fact, many infertility treatments are often surprisingly affordable. Approximately 85-90% of infertility cases are treated with drug therapy or surgical procedures. Fewer than 3% need advanced reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization (IVF).
- Check the coverage requirements in your state. 15 states have either an insurance mandate to offer or to cover some level of infertility treatment.
Stay tuned for more posts that will explore the various types of fertility treatment options available and how to determine if they are a fit for your people.
