On your family-building journey, you may need to consider how to pay for in vitro fertilization and other fertility-related expenses. The good news is that you likely won’t be at a loss for IVF financing or financing for other costs, thanks to the wide variety of options in the marketplace.
Fertility financing can be divided into two broad categories. There are fertility expense-specific loans that limit the use of funds. You can also finance your fertility-related expenses with other loan types — such as personal loans — that don’t limit how you can use the money. Knowing your options and how each works can help you choose the best option for your family and finances.
[Read: Best Personal Loans.]
What Is an IVF Loan?
The terms “IVF loan” and “fertility loan” tend to be interchangeable. This kind of loan comes from specialty lenders that work with fertility clinics and limit the use of funds to approved medical expenses. Expenses can include IVF costs, genetic testing, egg freezing, clinical costs and medications. You can check with your clinic to see if they work with any lenders specific to your needs.
If you search for IVF loans and fertility loans online, you’ll likely find a variety of lenders that market their personal loans to those looking to finance fertility treatments. While these personal loans aren’t designed to be used exclusively for fertility treatments, using one can help you cover expenses beyond what a fertility-specific lender might cover, says Angela Rastegar, co-founder and CEO of Sunfish, a lending marketplace and resource hub for family building.
In addition to personal loans, you can also consider other borrowing options that don’t come with the same restrictions as loans from specialty lenders. It’s a good idea to consider all of your options before borrowing funds.
How Can You Prepare to Apply for Fertility Financing?
Gathering information can help you determine how much you’ll need to borrow and what monthly payment you can afford. With this information in hand, you can explore different fertility financing options. Information to gather before applying could include:
— Your monthly disposable income. This can inform the type of loan payment you can afford.
— Your credit report and score. Checking your credit to identify errors or easy ways to improve your score can help you make adjustments that will leave you in a better position to apply for financing.
— A treatment estimate from your clinic. Requesting an estimate based on your medical needs can be helpful for budgeting.
— Approximate medication costs. You can speak to a pharmacy to get an idea of medication costs.
Before you begin filling out loan applications, it is imperative that you fully understand your current finances and potential fertility treatment costs, says Todd Nelson, senior vice president of strategic partnerships at LightStream, the online consumer lending division of Truist Bank.
Fertility Financing Options
Once you know the types of expenses that you want a loan to cover, you can compare your borrowing options to find the one that best suits your needs. Depending on your needs and financial situation, your options may include the following.
Fertility-Specific Lenders
A fertility loan or IVF loan is a purpose-specific loan that can be used to cover approved medical expenses.
“There’s a lot of due diligence that goes into these clinic-lender relationships,” Rastegar says. “Lenders evaluate clinics, and clinics evaluate a lender’s solutions to make sure that what they offer is a fit for their patients.”
Clinics typically don’t receive a kickback for referring patients to a partner lender, Rastegar says. Instead, the arrangement is about the peace of mind from knowing that the lender and clinic already communicate.
With this type of IVF loan, the funds can be disbursed straight to your provider.
Personal Loans
A personal loan could give you more flexibility. For example, you could use these loans to cover expenses like maternity clothes or travel to visit your gestational surrogate — expenses not generally covered by fertility-specific loans.
Additionally, a personal loan could help you take advantage of preferential pricing from your fertility clinic. “Some clinics offer discounted or bundled pricing if you commit to multiple treatment cycles,” Nelson says. “A personal loan can help parents make a larger up-front commitment on their fertility journey and lower the cost-per-cycle.”
Personal loans are available from banks, credit unions, peer-to-peer lenders and online lenders and for borrowers of various financial backgrounds. There are different types of personal loans, and the right choice for you will depend on your needs and financial situation.
Home Equity Loans
A home equity loan lets you borrow against the equity in your home. Since it’s a collateralized loan guaranteed by your home, interest rates can often be lower than other types of loans.
However, since your home secures your loan, be mindful that defaulting could jeopardize your homeownership.
Lines of Credit
A line of credit can help you access funds on an as-needed basis, which could be helpful if you decide to do an additional round of IVF, for example. With a line of credit, you only pay interest on the funds you draw.
You may be able to use a personal line of credit or home equity line of credit for your funding needs.
[Read: Best Low-Interest Personal Loans]
How to Compare Your Fertility Financing Options
Soft credit pulls — which allow you to view rates and terms from different lenders without impacting your credit — make it easier to compare your fertility financing options. Here are some tips to help you find the best option to fit your needs.
— Focus on affordability. Your family-building journey can be stressful enough without a monthly payment that adds financial stress.
— Start with your fertility clinic. Clinics work with intended parents with varying needs and often have in-house financing, discounts for bundling multiple cycles of IVF or established lender partnerships.
— Compare your clinic’s options with those from other lenders. “While many fertility clinics may provide financing options, it’s still worthwhile to shop around to find the most affordable option — even if it’s not specifically designed or marketed for fertility treatment,” says Tim Schlueter, vice president and head of lending and strategic marketing at Avant.
— Verify loan fees. Since fees can vary by lender, verifying lender fees before committing to a loan is important. While Nelson and Schleuter both say that prepayment penalties are becoming a thing of the past, some loans may still have fees that can impact affordability.
— Revisit your needs. Knowing how you plan to use your financing can help you decide between a lender that might limit the use of funds and others that put you in control of how you spend the money.
[Read: Best Home Equity Loans.]
Alternatives to Fertility Financing
If you don’t qualify for a fertility or personal loan, or simply don’t want to take on additional debt, you have other options to help pay for your family-building goals.
— Employee benefits, such as a health savings account. If you have an HSA, you can often use HSA funds for fertility-related treatments and medications.
— Fertility-related grants. These can give you access to extra funds for your fertility-related expenses. Resolve: The National Infertility Association and Sunfish both have lists of grants and other resources that you can explore.
— Low-interest credit cards. This option still involves taking on debt, but a credit card with a 0% promotional APR could also be a cost-saving solution.
— Friends and family. Friends or family members might also be willing to contribute to your journey, especially if you have enthusiastic parents eager for grandchildren, Rastegar says .
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IVF Loans: Fertility Financing Options, Explained originally appeared on usnews.com
