Fertility Treatments: Types and Costs

Thinking About Fertility Research Paper
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The World Health Organization indicates that approximately four couples in emerging economies are struggling with infertility (Lacey et al., 2021). According to Starosta et al. (2020), nearly 12 to 18 percent of married couples struggle with fertility issues in the United States (U.S.). In this context, 20 percent of infertility cases are attributed to male factors, while 30 to 40 percent of infertility is attributed to both female and male factors (Starosta et al., 2020). Based on these statistics, there is a need for healthcare systems to invest in evidence-based treatment modalities to augment health outcomes and population growth. This paper discusses the types of fertility treatments as well as the primary issues concerning such treatments, including costs.
It is crucial to understand various available fertility treatments, including intrauterine insemination, in vitro fertilization, and intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Intrauterine insemination is a fertility treatment involving supported ability to conceive for individuals experiencing endometriosis, male factor fertility, anovulation, as well as other forms of infertility (Starosta et al., 2020). Specific factors influence intrauterine insemination outcomes, such as semen characteristics, stimulation regimens, and diagnosis for infertility. In vitro fertilization constitutes the only discipline or part of medicine entailing the creation of human life and involves extracting and fertilizing eggs and transferring them to the uterus (Schondorf-Gleicher et al., 2022). It is a commonly applied treatment approach for severe male factor infertility (Starosta et al., 2020). Intracytoplasmic sperm injection involves an injection of a single sperm into an egg to enhance fertilization (Morishita et al., 2021). It is a form of in vitro fertilization that is commonly applied to address male infertility when it affects an individual's ability to get pregnant.
Insurance covers infertility treatments in some states, with Arkansas having a $ 15,000-lifetime maximum insurance and Rhode Island and Maryland covering costs up to $100,000 (Kawwass et al., 2021). In addition, Hawaii's infertility guideline limits the highest number of trials to a single in vitro fertilization cycle. Other states, like Connecticut, allow six retrievals within a lifetime course. Accordingly, Massachusetts discredits upper thresholds for the volume of procedures as well as the lifetime highest cost. Instead, the state allows insurers to set limits anchored on patient health history or clinical guidelines (Kawwass et al., 2021).
Fertility treatments provide hope to couples and people experiencing inferti...