97% of employers offering infertility coverage say that it adds little to medical plan costs and that many employees prize it.
Brian Klepper
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
–There are multiple considerations when choosing a fertility clinic, such as pricing, success rate and what the percentages are for singletons vs. multiple births.
–Another important consideration is whether a vendor’s performance claims have been vetted by an independent third party, like the Validation Institute. If not, why not?
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Does your company’s health plan offer fertility benefits? What’s the case for making these services available, and what issues should you consider in choosing a vendor?
A recent World Health Organization (WHO) report found that one in six people worldwide experiences infertility during their lifetimes and one in eight experiences it at any one time. Infertility is “a disease of the male or female reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse.” The report clarifies that infertility is a common condition worldwide. Any employees and their partners, both women and men, including singles and those in the LGBTQ+ communities, can need help in forming a family. For employers, workers with infertility issues are likely to have physical and emotional burdens — e.g., anxiety, depression and financial stress — that corrode employee engagement and productivity.