Costs & payment

Why there is no single price for IVF

An advertised "IVF package price" is usually the base cost of one cycle and rarely the amount anyone actually pays. The variation between patients is real, not a pricing trick — the main drivers are:

• Medication. Often the largest variable. The dose needed depends on your age and ovarian reserve, and doses can differ several-fold between two people having the same procedure.
• ICSI versus conventional IVF, which depends on sperm parameters.
• Freezing and storage, if there are embryos to freeze, plus annual storage after that.
• Genetic testing, where there is a clinical reason for it.
• Additional procedures such as hysteroscopy or surgical sperm retrieval.
• A frozen transfer later, which is a separate, considerably smaller cost than a full cycle.

What a written estimate should itemise

Questions worth asking any clinic

• Is this the full cost, or does medication get billed separately?
• What is not included in the quoted figure?
• What happens to the cost if the cycle is cancelled before egg collection?
• What does a frozen embryo transfer cost, separately?
• What are the annual storage charges, and when do they start?
• Are consultations and scans during the cycle charged separately?
• Will I get this in writing before I commit?

Ask these of us and of anywhere else you are considering. A clinic that answers them readily is telling you something useful about how it operates.

Insurance and financing

Health insurance in India has historically excluded fertility treatment, though some corporate policies have begun to include limited cover, and associated procedures such as diagnostic laparoscopy or hysteroscopy are sometimes covered where there is a separate medical indication. Check your policy wording and speak to your insurer directly.

Ask us about payment arrangements when you discuss your plan. It is a normal question and it is better raised early than left to become a source of stress mid-cycle.