Can availabilty of Insurance cover for Infertility treatment increase the IVF market in India

Infertility is growing across the globe including India. WHO estimates that infertility impacts a staggering 1 in 6 people worldwide, which is approximately 17% of the global population.

 

Infertility is growing across the globe including India. WHO estimates that infertility impacts a staggering 1 in 6 people worldwide, which is approximately 17% of the global population.

The Gross Fertility Rate in India has decreased by almost 20% in the last decade. It’s expected that there are nearly 30 million couple with fertility concerns in India. However, 0.3 million i.e. 1% only visit fertility clinics for IVF and other treatments. Hence this fertility treatment in the country is inaccessible to most of the population.

One of key reasons for such low percentage is the high cost of these treatments. Normally one cycle of IVF treatment cost between Rs 1.5 lakhs to Rs 3 lakhs and couple generally need to undertake multiple cycles. In absence of any insurance products covering infertility treatment, the patients pay for the treatment.

There have been regular demands from various Infertility experts to include coverage of infertility treatment within Insurance packages.

Does coverage for IVF treatment increase the adoption of IVF treatment by such couples?

This is interesting as there are no insurance products for IVF globally except for few states in USA where such requirement for covering infertility treatment is mandated by the State as a part of licensing requirement for insurance companies.

A report on impact of Insurance mandate on Infertility market in USA by a leading research entity noted following observations:

1. Insurance coverage for IVF resulted in higher utilization rate of 277% compared to states without coverage.
2. The number of fertility clinics among states with comprehensive IVF insurance mandates was 1.31 per 100,000 women ages 25–44, compared to 1.00 per 100,000 in states without these mandates.
3. Cycle volume per clinic was 80% higher in states with comprehensive mandates compared to non-comprehensive states (478 vs. 267 cycles per clinic per year, respectively).

Similarly, another study found use of IVF was 1.5 times higher in few mandated states as compared to national rates.

Based on above reports, there is a positive correlation between availability of insurance coverage and number of IVF cycles. Definitely as the cost of infertility treatment is expensive, availability of this insurance product will provide an opportunity to the couple to access IVF treatment at an affordable price and thereby increase the infertility market in India.

This is an innovation where Safetree has been working extensively to develop an insurance product to support couple in their journey for parenthood. Watch this space for an exciting update soon.