This evening I was helping Chris with filing his taxes and was searching through our medical paperwork.  I pulled out our insurance policy booklet and flicked through it to read about infertility treatment coverage.  I already knew we were 100% covered, but what I caught sight of was that we needed prior approval for certain procedures – such as IUI! Whoops…!!

We are learning a lot about medical insurance, policies, bills, coverage, approval, pharmacies – the lot!  But there is so much to keep tabs of that I am not used to.  This was one of them.

After mildly panicking that I had screwed up, I called up my insurance company, and phew, I discovered that I did not need prior approval for this.  Panic over.  These insurance booklets can be very confusing.  Especially when our insurance is worldwide cover, so depending on which country you are in, depends on the process. Grrrrrrr.  However, I am entirely grateful that I do have amazing insurance.

I appreciate the NHS – I really do, particularly when it comes to the complicated billing system we have here.  However, if we were in the UK right now things would be different.  NHS guidelines used to be that IUI treatment was offered on the NHS if:

• a man has mild fertility problems
• a woman has mild endometriosis
• a couple has unexplained infertility

However, new guidelines released in 2013 state that IUI is no longer offered in these circumstances. Instead, we would probably have been advised to keep trying to conceive through regular unprotected sexual intercourse for a total of two years. Only after this time we may be offered in vitro fertilisation (IVF).  So if we were in the UK right now we would be 10 months and counting, then going straight to IVF.  That would be pretty scary.  I’m kind of glad we are where we are right now in the US!!

It can all get a little confusing sometimes