Cost of fertility treatments in Canada

From IVF to surrogacy, the cost of fertility treatments can really add up. The good news is that some options, like laparoscopy, are covered – and several provinces across the country, including Ontario and Manitoba, also provide some assistance with out-of-pocket expenses.

If you’re considering fertility treatments but are concerned about the cost, you’re not alone. One in six Canadians experience infertility, but fertility treatments are not publicly funded across the country. Get a quick glimpse at the costs of the most common treatment options below. For more detailed information on a particular treatment, click on the link.

Cost of fertility drugs: Clomid

Fertility drugs, such as clomiphene (Clomid, Serophene, Milophene, etc.), regulate your reproductive hormones and trigger the release of one or more eggs per ovulation cycle. Most women use them for three to six months before conceiving or trying a different kind of treatment.

• Success rates: About 20 to 60 per cent of women who use fertility drugs (often with artificial insemination) get pregnant.
• Cost: Clomiphene pills cost as little as $40 for five pills that are 50mg each, to $100 for higher dosage pills. It is worth looking for a lower cost pharmacy. Expect the prices to vary according to the dose and number of pills you need. If you are covered by a third-party insurer (like Green Shield Canada), they assume the costs; it’s important to contact them at the outset, to determine eligibility. If you don’t have insurance, one BabyCenter Canada mom suggested trying generic brands of Clomid to lower costs.

Cost of surgery

Surgery can help fix genetic defects or blocked fallopian tubes, or remove endometriosis, uterine fibroids, or ovarian cysts. In most cases, a laparoscopy is an out-patient procedure.

• Success rates: About 65 per cent of people treated for endometriosis and scar tissue go on to conceive. For those who have had fallopian tube procedures, success rates depend on factors including the severity of the tubal problem, and the person’s age. In some cases, IVF is also an option.
• Cost: Provincial health coverage pays the cost of laparoscopic surgery in Canada. Check with your provincial health ministry to find out what is covered in your area.

Cost of intrauterine insemination (IUI)

During artificial insemination or intrauterine insemination (IUI), a concentrated dose of sperm (from your partner or a donor) is purified and then injected into your uterus with a catheter during ovulation.

A fertility medication, like Clomid, is typically prescribed as well, to promote the production of healthy, viable eggs to increase the chances of conception.

• Success rates: Between 5 and 15 per cent of women who undergo artificial insemination conceive.
• Cost: It is illegal to pay someone for their sperm in Canada. However, you can buy previously frozen sperm from a sperm bank. Whether you are using donor sperm, or your partner’s sperm, there are several costs to consider with artificial or donor insemination. A fertility clinic may charge you for a counselling or orientation session, which can cost up to $250. Semen preparation can range from $200 to $700 and storage can add up to $200 per year. More costs might include lab tests, ovulation predictor kits and fertility drugs, at about $1,000 per cycle. Overall, the cost of IUI ranges from several hundred to $4,000 per cycle.

Some provinces, including Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba, provide one-time grants and/or tax credits that can be used for IUI or IVF.

Cost of superovulation

This is the production of a number of eggs in one menstrual cycle, triggered by ovary-stimulating medication. Drugs like clomiphene, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and gonadotrophins are injected under the skin for about 10 days of the month. The ovulated eggs are combined with an IUI treatment.

• Success rates: The overall pregnancy rate of superovulation with IUI is about 10 to 20 per cent.
• Cost: roughly the same as the IUI costs outlined above.

Cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF)

The process of in vitro fertilization (IVF), involves a number of steps to let fertilization happen outside of your body. First, you may need fertility drugs to help your ovaries produce one or more eggs. Then, the eggs are removed from your ovaries and fertilized with sperm (from your partner or a donor, or your partner’s sperm is combined with a donor egg) in a laboratory to produce embryos. The resulting embryos are placed in your uterus.

• Success rates: About 30 per cent of people aged 35 to 39 years who try IVF conceive.
• Cost: This procedure usually costs between $10,000 to $15,000 (plus another $5,000 for medication). Before you begin, check with your provincial health ministry to see if any costs are covered. In Ontario, for example, the province will pay for one cycle of IVF per patient under the age of 43 (and a second if it’s to act as a surrogate for another family), following the one-at-a-time transfer of all viable embryos.

Some clinics offer free additional services such as genetic testing (an embryo that tests "genetically normal" increases your chances of a successful pregnancy). This would otherwise cost another $5,000 to $10,000. Some clinics offer financial assistance, as do a handful of charities. Since fertility costs are an eligible medical expense, some group and private insurance plans provide partial coverage, and you can also write off part of your IVF expenses.

Cost of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)

During intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a single sperm is injected into a single egg and the resulting embryo is placed in your uterus. Your partner's sperm may need to be drawn from their testicle with a microscopic needle or surgical biopsy.

• Success rates: About 35 per cent of couples who try ICSI conceive.
• Cost: ICSI can cost anywhere from $12,000 to $17,000, depending on the clinic. There are fees for orientation (around $350), IVF ($8000), medication ($2000-$3000), freezing embryos ($1,200), and ICSI itself costs about $1,600.

Gestational carriers (also known as surrogates)

If medical options aren’t successful, a gestational carrier (or a surrogate) who carries your embryo, or a donor's embryo, to term is another option.

• Success rates: Unavailable.
• Cost: It is illegal to pay for surrogacy in Canada, but the surrogate can be reimbursed for their expenses, including loss of work-related income. There is also a cost to the detailed legal process involved, and that can add $75,000 or more.