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Your Insurance Decides If You Can Have a Baby image

Your Insurance Decides If You Can Have a Baby

S4 · Create A Happy Family
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52 Plays27 days ago

Why does your insurance, or even your zip code, determine whether you can access fertility care?

In this mini moment, Katy Encalade, CEO of Egg Donor & Surrogate Solutions, unpacks insights from Elizabeth Carr, the first baby born through IVF in the United States and a leading fertility advocate, on the hidden barriers that shape fertility journeys before most people even realize it.

Katy explains how access to fertility care isn’t just medical, it’s structural. Insurance coverage, cost, and where you live can quietly determine what options are actually available… and for many, whether they have options at all.

If you’re exploring IVF, surrogacy, or egg donation, understanding these barriers is key to making informed decisions.

As we recognize National Infertility Awareness Week, this conversation highlights why awareness and advocacy are essential to creating more equitable paths to family building.

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Transcript

The Financial Burden of Fertility Medications

00:00:00
Speaker
They're not going to cover that darn medication that you need to kickstart the whole process in the first place, which makes absolutely no sense, but is very, very common. And for most families, that's where this journey begins. Not with options, but with limitations. And this is something I see shape the outcome long before medical decisions

Disparities in Access to Fertility Care

00:00:21
Speaker
are made. Some of the medications, you know, it's several thousand dollars, right, out of ah out of your pocket.
00:00:26
Speaker
So why is access to fertility care still so limited, even decades after IVF first became possible? Because it isn't just about medicine. It's about access. And access in this space is not evenly distributed. It's shaped by policy, insurance structures, and geography in ways most people don't fully see it until they're in it. One of the very first things when people talk to me about, I'm exploring IVF, I don't ask, you know, like, oh, well, you know, what options are you looking at? I ask, where do you live? And then it is shortly followed up with, what do you have for insurance?
00:01:05
Speaker
It takes away choice, quite frankly. It it it really, it does not give patients a choice.

Unsafe Alternatives Due to Limited Access

00:01:12
Speaker
Where you live, what insurance covers, and what that creates is a system where two families can want the same thing and have completely different paths simply based on where they live. These are things shaping whether or not someone even has a chance to build their family. And for many people, that's a reality. Not the lack of desire, not the lack of options, but the lack of access. And when access is limited, people don't just wait, they start looking for alternatives. And not all of those paths are equally safe, structured, or protective. And most people don't realize the difference until they're already

The Role of Advocacy in Improving Access

00:01:51
Speaker
in it. We're not talking about a knee, we're talking about potential for human life. This is why advocacy matters. Because if this industry doesn't create better access with structure, people will find access without it. Because building a family shouldn't depend on your zip code or your insurance plan. Advocates like Elizabeth Carr and organizations like Resolve, the National Infertility Association, are working to change that through awareness, policy, and support. And if you've ever wondered how to get involved, you can start by signing up for advocacy networks like Resolves so you can stay informed and be part of the progress being made. And if you feel comfortable, sharing your story can make a difference in and ways that you may not even realize because you are more than the barriers that you face.
00:02:38
Speaker
But barriers don't disappear on their own. They change when people speak, advocate, and push for something better. And that is how this industry moves forward.