How Much Does IVF Cost in Illinois? Average IVF Cost and Insurance Coverage

Last Updated on January 16, 2020

Illinois is one the 17 states that offer an infertility insurance mandate. The law of Illinois requires various HMOs and insurance plans to cover the treatment and diagnosis of infertility.

How much the insurance covers can vary from state to state. Illinois, fortunately, offers a better coverage than the other states. The IVF cost in Illinois is also influenced by the health plans offered to you through your employer.

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How Much Does IVF Cost in Illinois?

The cost of IVF in Illinois without insurance would round off to be around $12,000 excluding the other treatments. For an estimated cost couples should keep a heads up for nine months. It would also be wise to expect the state to not cover many hidden expenses that will come around your way during the procedure.

During your initial budget calculations you will receive a customized plan from your clinic. Many clinics in Illinois require a prepayment which is an out of pocket expense before the insurance pays it directly to you.  It is wise to keep into consideration the unforeseen expenses.

Furthermore, Illinois does not have a mandatory program which compensates mothers with paid leaves before or after delivery. The cost of medication adds another average amount of $3000-$7000 based on the condition of the patient.

According to survey statistics, one can expect the IVF cost in Illinois to be $17,150 (IVF Cycle).

The IVF cost in Illinois for patients covered by insurance can be much different from those who have to pay for themselves. At average, the cost difference from one clinic to the other underinsured circumstances is barely of a few hundred dollars, while in the case of the self-paying patients it is a question of thousands of dollars.

Typically, the out of pocket costs in Illinois are for medications, lab work, regular visits, and the transferring of each embryo. While many clinics offer discounted and low-cost fertility treatment options, one can still quote a fixed expense for the IVF treatment.

Here are some numbers to help you gauge of IVF costs in Illinois cities:

Major Illinois CitiesAverage cost of Single IVF Cycle without medication
Chicago$ 10,000
Naperville$ 10,000
Peoria$ 10,000
Rockford$ 10,000
Champaign$ 9,000

When additional services are added to the treatment the cost of IVF can alter according to the procedure performed.

Procedure Breakdown of IVF Cost in Illinois

Donor Eggs Cost and Sperm Cost

The addition of donor eggs or sperm also increases the price of an IVF cycle, regardless of the fact that it also increases your chances of conceiving. Here is a sample table of how you can expect your donor eggs cost and sperm cost in Illinois to be, your spending may be different depending on the insurance provider and clinical offerings.

ProcedureWithout DonorsDonor SpermDonor Eggs
Cost$12, 000$14,000$29,000
Total Spending$48,000$18,600$38,000
Success Rate25%75%75%

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)

A case in which the sperm is directly injected into the egg and the cost of which is covered by the insurance in the first two attempts in Illinois. If the insurance does not cover ICSI cost, it adds around $750-$1200 to your bucket. Similarly, the use of ICSI- Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection in your IVF procedure also boosts your chances of conceiving. With the direct injection of sperm into the egg, the rate of successful fertilization is expected to be higher than the standard IVF method.

PGD- Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis

This procedure makes your IVF cost in Illinois unpredictable. By influencing the total number of cycles it requires you to pay from the pocket. In PGD, your Endocrinologist will take a cell from the embryo to perform multiple tests. These tests identify genetic disorders which help in preventing the implantation of embryos that are less sustainable. The PGD procedure adds an average of $1,800 to your IVF costs which is not covered by your insurance.

Additional IVF Costs

As mentioned earlier, there are many out of pocket expenses that the state insurance does not cover for you. These add to the total IVF costs in Illinois making them to be a lot if you have not preplanned your costs till a baby comes home. Some of these extra costs are:

  •   Pre-screening:It is to determine the causes of infertility.
  •   Preimplantation: It is also sometimes covered by the insurance to check genetic abnormalities. If however, the insurance does not cover, it adds $3,500 to your total amount.
  •   Refund program:If an IVF cycle is retrieved before the harvesting of the egg, the couples receive only a partial refund.

IVF Illinois Insurance

Illinois law accommodates infertility coverage for women of age 25+. Any insurance policy that is documented outside Illinois is categorized as ineligible for the insurance law, except in situations where the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) has an authorized network in Illinois or if the member of the group is a resident of Illinois.

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for insurance there is an eligibility criterion. For insurance to cover the IVF cost, the eligibility criteria are:

  • To be a resident of Illinois or a member of an affiliated Illinois network
  • To have tried unprotected sexual intercourse for an entire year with failure to sustain pregnancy or conceive.
  • To have gone through fail attempts of other medical options of conceptions like artificial insemination.
  • To be covered by an organization that has more than 25 employees and is fully insured by Illinois group policy

What does the insurance cover?

Illinois in comparison with the other states has a more generous insurance plan for fertility. It requires of the health maintenance groups and insurance providers to cover the treatment and diagnosis similar as that of other health conditions. For this reason, the insurance includes the following benefits about IVF:

  • Prescribed drugs
  • Testing
  • In vitro Fertilization
  • Artificial Insemination
  • Intracytoplasmic sperm injection
  • Donor eggs and sperms
  • Retrieval of oocytes of sperms
  • The associated medical expense of the donor including screening, monitoring, and drugs.
  • Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)

What is not covered by the insurance?

According to law, the insurance does not cover the following IVF costs in Illinois:

  • Cost for the reversal of vasectomy or tubal ligation
  • Cost for a sperm or egg donor, the law would not cover the bills for non-medical services
  • Cost for obtaining a sperm or egg from the insured individual will be covered by the law, but the cost for rendering services to a surrogate will not be covered.
  • Cost for the preservation of the embryo, sperm or egg
  • Cost for experimental treatments
  • A procedure that is against moral or religious teachings of the covered group or insurance companies.

Insurance Limitations

Although Illinois has a fairly wide room for fertility treatment, there are a few advanced procedures such as Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and IVF which your health insurance only covers once there is medical proof of attempting less expensive fertility procedures.

As the eligibility criteria stated above, one needs to be authorized by the insurance provider as an eligible candidate for methods as expensive as IVF. Also, note that there is a lifetime limitation of the number of times an individual can try IVF.

Even if you change your insurance carrier, the limitation still applies. The limitations may vary from annual limits to a total number of cycles. Before exhausting all your options, remember to leave space for another successful attempt in the future.

Regardless of the fact that Illinois offers a mandate that extensively covers the IVF treatment, one should not completely rely on it in terms of budget calculation. As a patient, you too will be spending a fair out of pocket amount on your IVF treatment.

Illinois Fertility Clinics IVF Cost and Insurance

Illinois is one of those lucky eight states that have a complete fertility coverage mandate. The recently updated insurance mandate has broadened the treatment possibilities for patients. Because of the diversity in the number of fertility clinics, the IVF Cost in Illinois may vary. To have an estimate of the average cost, let’s review the packages offered by different fertility programs.

Advanced Fertility Center in Chicago, IL

Advanced Fertility Center is one of the successfully running fertility clinics in Chicago, Illinois. Here the treatment for IVF can expect to be in the range of $12,000 excluding medication and other treatments that may be required.

  • Embryo Biopsy: $1400
  • ICSI: $1500
  • Sperm Freezing: %150

Advanced Reproductive Center in Chicago, IL

Advanced Reproductive Center also offers a number of IVF treatment cost plans.

  • Single Cycle IVF Cost Plan- $7,000

This includes the single cycle of donor egg, meaning that the embryos are created and the donor is stimulated. Then the embryos are transferred to the concerned individual. The process includes the following:

  • Ovarian stimulation for the donor with ultrasounds and blood work
  • Uterine stimulation for the concerned parent with blood work and ultrasounds
  • Mock transfer, Oocyte retrieval
  • Embryo transfer

It does not cover the cost for ICSI, any fertility test if required for the donor, or any legal fees.

  • Multiple Cycle IVF Plan– $18,000
  • IVF Plan with Refund guarantee-$19,500-$28,000
  • Cryopreserved Embryo Cycle– $3,500

It is a process in which the frozen embryo is thawed and then transferred to the concerned patient. The success rate of a frozen embryo is as almost similar to IVF cycles as with a fresh embryo.

These costs do not include any fertility, disease or prenatal testing.

Center of Advanced Reproductive Technologies in IL

Advanced Reproductive Technologies is a part of the Center of Reproductive Medicine. It has a fairly clear package and insurance finance description for the IVF treatment in Illinois. For treatment, at ART the insurance payment and patient prepayment will be charged to you, while the insurance company sends the reimbursement to you. The estimated cost sums up at $12,000-$13,000. The pricing structure at ART is as follows:

  • Medication– $2,500-$5000 (approximately)
  • ART Services-$8,670

It includes Transfer, Laboratory, Anesthesia, Retrieval, and Embryology

  • CRM Monitoring-$2,360

This cost is usually covered by the Insurance agencies.

  • ICSI-$1,200

Frozen Embryo Transfer

  • Medication– $750 (approximately)
  • ART Services-$2,800

It includes the thawing and transferring of embryo

  • CRM Monitoring– $1,490

This cost is usually covered by the Insurance agencies.

  • ICSI-$1,200

Excluding the cost of medication, frozen embryo procedure can cost $4,370.

WINFertility in IL

WINFertility handles thousands of cases of infertility annually. It works in collaboration with renowned fertility specialists and pharmacists. It offers a Discounted Global Fee for infertility treatment which gives you a 40% less average of IVF cost. From an average of $18,754, the total estimated cost at WinFertility sums up to be $11,800.

Family Beginnings in IL

Family Beginnings is another advanced fertility care center in Illinois. Its IVF fee is $4000 including retrieval facility, sperm preparation, surgeon fee, embryo culture and transfer. This is excluding the charged for ultrasounds, medicines, blood work, cryopreservation and ICSI.

  • Mini IVF

Family Beginnings also offers Minimal Stimulation IVF which requires a fewer amount of medications and develops more embryos and fewer eggs. It has the same rate of success than the standard IVF. The estimated cost of Mini IVF is $6850 including blood work, ultrasound, and medications.

Advanced Fertility Care in IL

Advanced Fertility Care center offers the following payment package:

  • IVF Single Cycle– $11,750

The single cycle IVF plan includes care and monitoring of the egg transfer and retrieval during the treatment. This cost is excluding the following charges:

  • Diagnostic Testing-$2,000-$2,500  
  • Medications- $4000 (approx.)
  • Embryo Cryopreservation for 6+Embryos– $250 each group
  • Frozen Embryo Transfer-$4,000
  • Specimen Storage– $450

Oak Brook Fertility Center in Chicago, IL

Oak Brook Fertility Center has a high rate of successful pregnancy cases in women under the age of 35. With various treatment options, it is currently offering IVF treatment $10,050 for a single IVF cycle. This includes the cost for:

  • Embryo culture and transfer
  • Ovarian stimulation monitoring
  • Ultrasound and oocyte retrieval
  • Post-transfer lab testing
  • It does not cover the cost for:
  • Pre-diagnostic testing of the couple
  • Medications
  • Cryopreservation of Embryos or eggs
  • Thawed oocytes
  • Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

Read More:

Top IVF Clinics in Illinois By Success Rate

Cost of IVF and Breakdown Fees