IVF Costs which could be 2 to 3 times more for the same treatment depending upon which Clinic you use

[Wecare365]

I came across this when My Son and My Daughter in Law were trying to conceive. How can this be ?

Because that's how the private sector works? Same as any service really....

It's a private business and they can charge what they want for their services.

A clinic in a more costly location with higher staff costs will charge more. Similarly you're paying for a 'brand'.

Access to NHS IVF is a real lottery too. We were lucky in getting 3 rounds

The NHS was no help for them as you say its a lottery. I checked to see if the HFEA regulated and wow they don't and actually admit to this wide ranging pricing and say shop around- even when the Clinics are in the same London area. This seems crazy for something so precious

Some clinics do the minimal amount of appts and only allow straightforward patients, like ABC fertility. Then you have the ones where they do daily blood tests, always see the same doctor, available in the evening and weekend. I'm with one somewhere in between. My main factor was proximity to work due to all the appointments although I couldn't afford the very expensive clinics. Abroad is often cheaper and arguably they are better. I'd go abroad but again it doesn't fit with work at all.

Private business, but also depends on what they include. Some will price including the 'drugs pack' some price it separately. My drugs pack was about £2k the IVF £2.5k

Therefore pricing the drugs separately makes it appear that they are much cheaper. Those prices are about 5 years out of date.

the most expensive clinic ARGC gets great results first time so you have to weigh up paying £25k for one round with a higher chance of success vs £35k over 5 rounds (our experience). Most of the expensive clinics have lots of "add ons" that ramp the price up too

But there are cheaper clinics like ABC where it costs as little as £2.5k and lots of payment/refund packages available now.

IVF is a lot more affordable than people think its just about priorities

My Son found the pricing also not very transparent. The main cycle was priced but the drugs turned out to be around an additional 40-50% of the cycle price so turned out to be way more expensive than they say on the advertised price list but once you are there and because of what is at risk and so precious to you - you just go along and pay

I don't think it's a lack of transparency as such it's just that a lot of people just don't know/don't understand the process/ what's required. IVF clinics can't include the drugs in the package because everyone has a different requirement - what might be £700 for one person for their cycle is £1500 for someone else as it's a tailored approach

Most good clinics will send you their price list and then do you an example cost specific to your needs

The pricing is different because a lot of the treatment is different, a few examples:

Different levels of monitoring
Different drugs
More experienced embryologists
Experienced doctors
Etc

It's like everything, you generally get what you pay for.

Overseas clinics are half the price. Can share info if interester.

I'm sorry your son and daughter in law are going through infertility.

IVF in the UK is actually quite tightly regulated and like any medical procedure one size doesn't fit all.

It's hard, but it's also worth looking at why they aren't being funded by the NHS. Often it's to do with success rates being less for certain reasons. It might help them decide what path to take with IVF

@vizlsapup

Overseas clinics are half the price. Can share info if interester.

Not always as tightly controlled either and flights / accommodation and now quarantine can push the price up

When shopping around, be careful to check what the clinic's rules are.

Sometimes, they'll quote you a price for something, but you can actually get it cheaper elsewhere (eg., sometimes you can buy the drugs for yourself, sometimes a clinic will insist you use their pharmacy). It's definitely worth asking a GP/NHS fertility clinic (if relevant) what can be done on the NHS. Sometimes even if they won't fund IVF itself, they may fund preliminary blood tests or scans.

We used NHS clinic but paid privately. It was the cheapest in our area and the closest.

Like someone else said, being close is a real advantage (we were 40 mins away it doesn't need to be on your doorstep but I imagine 2-3 hours would add a lot to the stress).

The clinics with the highest success rates often do more monitoring and tweak their treatment; their cycles can cost more.
We felt we wasted thousands on 3 failed cycles from a cheap clinic. We then went to the UK's most successful clinic, paid a lot more and ended up with our babies.
I wish we had started off at the more expensive clinic - we would have saved an awful lot of money.

There is no doubt that going to Private Clinics in the top quartile success table- which interpreted to me by a Receptionist at the Clinic meant in the top quarter of the performance tables- is something to always consider. But even in this Group the prices vary a lot and as the success tables take so long to publish you are still left considering historical data. The 2018 tables are the most current .

@PeonyandDahlia

The clinics with the highest success rates often do more monitoring and tweak their treatment; their cycles can cost more. We felt we wasted thousands on 3 failed cycles from a cheap clinic. We then went to the UK's most successful clinic, paid a lot more and ended up with our babies. I wish we had started off at the more expensive clinic - we would have saved an awful lot of money.

But would you really have saved?

The last clinic may well have benefited from seeing what didn't work for you before and tailored your treatment to suit. I also think their is an element of pure luck attached to IVF.