Fertility Benefits: Are There Advantages to Adding Them for Your Company?

Even if your employees aren’t vocal about their struggles, there are undoubtedly people at your organization experiencing infertility. The number of people diagnosed with infertility is rising in the United States, and as many as one in eight heterosexual couples are dealing with infertility. Fertility benefits can help with these struggles.

Single people and LGBTQIA+ people are also affected by family planning challenges. For those who choose to seek fertility treatments, more than 80% have little to no insurance coverage for it, according to FertilityIQ, a leading infertility resource.

Last year, the number of companies with new or expanded family-building benefits grew 8%, with nearly 800 large organizations globally participating. These businesses include a variety of sectors including retail, consumer packaged goods, industrial production, and healthcare services. They’re recognizing the benefits of fertility coverage range from financial to cultural.

What to Know About Infertility

Infertility is a global health issue affecting millions of people worldwide. Primary infertility is the inability to get pregnant, while secondary infertility is the inability to carry a pregnancy to term following successful conception.

Progyny, Insight Global’s fertility benefits provider, shared some insights:

• Many people are impacted by infertility in the workplace, whether or not they’re talking about it. One in 8 couples have difficulty getting or staying pregnant. One in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage, while one in 175 pregnancies end in stillbirth.
• More than half (58%) of people impacted by infertility forgo fertility treatments because of cost.
• A significant number of employers (65%) now offer fertility coverage because of employee requests for it.
• A large number (63%) of LGBTQIA+ people who are planning to add to their families expect to use options like reproductive technology, fostering, or adoption.

The NIH also found that men as it is in women have experienced infertility problems at similar rates.

There are many reasons that people may have struggles with fertility, some of which the Mayo Clinic defined with its infertility overview.

What Does Treatment for Infertility Look Like?

Fertility benefits can include a wide range of treatments and services. These may include:

• Infertility diagnosis
• Freezing eggs
• Procuring donor sperm or eggs
• In-vitro fertilization (IVF)
• Intrauterine insemination (IUI)
• Gestational carrier services

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it gives an idea of what coverage can look like. And of course, family-building benefits don’t have to end with birth, fostering, or adoption. Paid parental leave – something we offer at Insight Global in addition to fertility benefits – can be important for a smooth transition to parenthood for both children and their parents.

The Cost of Infertility

Infertility can be expensive. Many insurance policies will cover the diagnostics, but not the treatment, despite the fact infertility is considered a disease. And it can be frustrating to find that insurance doesn’t cover costs related to the treatment of infertility. Paying out of pocket to access fertility treatments is often cost-prohibitive for many families since it can cost thousands of dollars. Studies have found the cost of a “successful outcome” to be $61,377. To put this in perspective, the average household income in the United States was $70,784 in 2021.

In the U.S., 15 states require some private insurers to cover some fertility treatments, but there can be significant gaps in coverage. No Medicaid programs cover artificial insemination or IVF, and only one state Medicaid program covers fertility treatment. This means most patients will pay out of pocket.

Fertility benefits can help provide employees with a lifetime maximum of how much they’d spend on fertility treatments.

Cost-savings for Both Employers and Employees

Introducing fertility benefits may seem costly, but in the long-term, it’s cost-effective for both employers and employees.

Fertility benefits can reduce missed work time and lost productivity due to infertility-related issues. Undergoing treatment for infertility produces financial and mental stressors that can affect work engagement and productivity. Alleviating some of that stress through employer-sponsored benefits can result in employees with higher employee satisfaction and productivity.

Though it is not a guarantee, an overwhelming amount (97%) of companies say that adding fertility benefits has not increased the cost of healthcare on the business side.

The Inequity of Infertility

People from already-marginalized groups can face more difficulties accessing treatment for infertility.

Numerous studies have shown there continues to be a wage gap, especially for women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ people. Benefits that don’t address the needs of all employees, including those in minority groups, can put a disproportionate burden – especially on women — to shoulder high out-of-pocket costs for fertility treatment. Research has shown that fewer Black and Hispanic women use medical services to become pregnant. LGBTQIA+ people also face barriers to fertility care. The lower utilization of fertility services by marginalized groups has been attributed to lower wages, systemic barriers accessing healthcare, a lack of affordable family-building services, and other inequities.

Many people in the United States rely on their employers for healthcare. Employers that offer fertility benefits can help bridge these inequities and help employees build the family they desire.

Fertility treatment is often very expensive and can be cost-prohibitive for many people — regardless of their desire to be a parent and have a family. Providing benefits regardless of age race, gender, sexual orientation, or marital status promotes economic and health equity in the workplace. Fertility benefits give everyone the opportunity to have a family.

The Benefits of Providing Fertility Benefits

Providing fertility benefits can be mutually beneficial for employers and employees. FertilityIQ’s Family Building Workplace Index found the following:

• 61% of employees who received fertility benefit coverage said they felt more loyal and committed to their employer
• 53% stayed with their companies longer because receiving fertility benefits
• 88% of women who had their IVF fully paid for by their employer returned back to work with their employer following their maternity leave

The benefits can positively affect culture. Fertility health can be intertwined with overall health. Having a healthy workforce benefits everyone. In today’s candidate-driven job market, employees have more options than ever on where to work. It’s essential to attract and retain top talent; some employers have found that offering fertility benefits are a way to do so. A recent survey found that Millennial and Gen Z staffers care a lot about fertility benefits with 77% saying they’d stay at a company if it offered fertility benefits. Additionally, many said they would contemplate changing jobs for better benefits.

Many companies have found that fertility care can be a mutually beneficial way to invest in employees and their families as well as maintain a competitive advantage as an employer, decrease attrition rates, and increase employee satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, as we mentioned before, fertility benefits by-and-large don’t add significant costs to the employer for healthcare.

Contact Us!

At Insight Global, we take care of our people, because everyone matters. Our shared values drive everything we do. We are more than a staffing company – we empower people through economic opportunity. And we want our people to be empowered to create the family they want. That’s why we’re proud to offer a comprehensive fertility benefits package. And we can help your business to be an industry leader with a thriving company culture — whatever that means for you.

Our purpose is service, and we can support your business whether you’re looking for employees, employment, or guidance on how to cultivate a culture of caring. Contact us; we’re here for you!