Millions of top American workers dream of having a family someday—even before they meet Mr. or Ms. Right. But today this dream is put on hold because of an increasingly common disease called infertility.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), infertility is a disease of the reproductive system defined by failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.[1] Recently, in June 2017, infertility was recognized as a disease by the American Medical Association (AMA).[2] The good news is there are evidence-based treatments for infertility, including:
- Advanced Reproductive Technology (ART) such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF)
- Artificial insemination (IUI)
- Ovarian stimulation and other fertility drugs
- Surgery
Until now.
More and more companies are starting to offer fertility benefit plans to employees and new recruits, realizing that this is needed today to attract talent and keep employees loyal. There are about 15 states where fertility and infertility benefits are ‘mandated’ by the state legislature. With that said, the breadth and depth of coverage can vary quite a bit from seeing a fertility specialist, fertility medications only or limits on how much to spend for in vitro fertilization (IVF).Record high demand for fertility treatments
Today, employers from all market segments — telecom, retail, tech, professional services and public sector — are interested in providing family-friendly fertility benefits to their workforce. In fact, about 68 percent of large employers offer some type of reproductive assistance as part of their health insurance plan. WINFertility, a national leader for two decades in managed fertility care, offers members:- 24/7 access to an experienced FertilityCoach Nurse
- Donor egg/donor sperm
- Egg Freezing
- Evaluation by a board-certified fertility specialist
- Fertility drugs and bundled therapies
- IUI and/or IVF procedures
- Surrogacy and adoption
Millennials and fertility benefits
Research shows that 68 percent of millennials take coverage for fertility preservation, such as egg freezing, and infertility coverage into consideration when choosing an employer.[3] In fact, some findings show that millennials would accept fertility coverage over a higher salary, if offered the two options. Considering that most millennials have postponed starting a family for education, travel and innovative job skills, it makes good sense to offer assistance in having a family to garner their top-tiered skills and job loyalty. With a projected 30 percent ROI, fertility benefits indicate a powerful impact on talent retention. In fact, recruiting and retaining employees was the reason that one-third of employers said they boosted their benefit packages this year, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s newly released annual benefits survey.Infertility is a challenge for women
Another challenge is a woman’s most productive professional years conflict with her most fertile years. That’s because women postpone starting a family to focus on higher education and job mobility. With aging, comes a progressive decline in the number and quality of a woman’s eggs. But every year a woman waits to start a family, more problems occur, including[4]:- She has a smaller number of eggs left
- Her eggs are not as healthy
- She is more likely to have health conditions that can cause fertility problems
- She is more likely to have a miscarriage
- 1/3 ofwomen trying to conceive after age 35 will have problems getting pregnant
- 2/3 of women over age 40 will not be able to conceive without medical treatment
Offering fertility benefits is the right thing to do
Offering fertility benefits coverage is “trending,” and it’s the right thing to do. In the past 12 months, nearly one third of employers expanded their benefit packages to attract and retain top talent, according to the Society of Human Resource Management’s 2017 Employee Benefits Survey. As one CEO said, “If we have happy employees, we will have happy customers and, subsequently, happy shareholders.” Fertility coverage may drive meaningful improvements in your employee recruitment, retention and loyalty and that increases your bottom line. Where do you stand?WINFertility provides more people with access to better fertility care at a fraction of the cost.
Our comprehensive solutions give employer groups the ability to select from an employer-paid or voluntary program and the flexibility to customize their own individual plan. Contact us today for a free cost saving analysis to see how much we can save your business. See what WINFertility can do for your business. Fertility Solutions for All Businesses Sizes: National, Mid-sized, and Small.[1] Sexual and Reproductive Health. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/infertility/definitions/en/. [Accessed August 3, 2017]. [2] Berg, Sara. AMA backs global health experts in calling infertility a disease. AMA News. June 13, 2017. https://wire.ama-assn.org/ama-news/ama-backs-global-health-experts-calling-infertility-disease. [Accessed August 2, 2017]. [3] Fertility services can be attractive benefit. Managed Healthcare Executive. September 17, 2016. http://managedhealthcareexecutive.modernmedicine.com/managed-healthcare-executive/news/fertility-services-can-be-attractive-benefit. [Accessed August 3, 2017]. [4] Infertility FAQs. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/infertility/index.htm. [Accessed August 1, 2017} [5] ReproductiveFacts.org. American Society of Reproductive Medicine. http://www.reproductivefacts.org/topics/topics-index/. [Accessed August 1, 2017]
