A Creative Car Loan For Mindy's IVF

I am super excited.  DH and I had a few options we were looking into for financing IVF.  Unsecured personal loans, credit cards, etc. 

On March 22, 2011 I went into my credit union to inquire about a personal loan.  The loan officer stated that we would not be able to borrow more than $10K (which I was expecting).  She also stated that our minimum interest rate would be around 13.6%.  I was expecting a high interest rate, especially since I was asking about an unsecured loan, but I was not expecting it to be that high.

I told her that 13.6% would not work for us, since we had a credit card with a rate of 12.8%.  When I was about to leave, she started to get creative.  She remembered that our car loans were through them.  She pulled our file, looked up the value of are cars and compared them to what we owed.  Between the two vehicles we had $18K “equity.” 

So we consolidated the two loans and we’re pulling the equity out of our vehicles.  It will be a 4 yr loan, and our total car payments will be less than what we are paying now, with an interest rate of 3.14%.  I didn’t even know you could pull equity out of your vehicles. The best part is this gives us enough to pay for our IVF!  We closed on our loan Monday March 28th.  Hooray! 

Hell Has No Wrath Like a Woman Scorned

Fellow Ladies Battling Infertility
I implore you to contact PETA regarding their Give-A-Way for Infertility Awareness week.
Give 'em hell ladies - it sure is a great way to vent!

757-622-PETA (7382)
http://www.peta.org/features/win-a-vasectomy-from-peta.aspx?CommentModerated=true


From PETA's Website:

"Win a Vasectomy From PETA! It's a two-fer: Get your animal companion fixed, and get yourself fixed too! Human overpopulation is crowding out animal life on the planet, and dog and cat overpopulation is creating a euthanasia crisis that is a crying shame. Disappearing wilderness, vanishing water resources, and pollution is the price that future generations will pay for more human births, while losing their lives is the price that millions of homeless dogs and cats pay when guardians neglect to "fix" their companion animals.Every year in the U.S., an estimated 6 to 8 million lost, abandoned, or unwanted dogs and cats enter animal shelters. The best way to combat the companion-animal overpopulation crisis is to have your cat or dog neutered. And with a global population of almost 7 billion humans, more of our species could use a (voluntary) snip too.Now, one lucky man can be reproduction-free, free of charge, just like his pooch or feline friend. In honor of National Infertility Awareness Week (April 24 to 30), PETA will give one free vasectomy to a man who has recently had his companion cat or dog neutered. Don't worry boys—you'll still be able to enjoy sex. But your neutered dog will be less likely to face the health and behavioral problems that unneutered dogs experience."

IVF Insurance Can Save Government Money

 

Fewer multiple births in states with insurance coverage for infertility

Faced with the prospect of costly in vitro fertilization (IVF) but with no help from insurance coverage, some infertile couples feel pressure to transfer multiple embryos in an attempt to ensure that the IVF is a success. This can lead to higher rates of twin and triplet births and prematurity. But having insurance coverage could curtail the costs associated with these multiple births, according to a new study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine.
Published in the current issue of Fertility and Sterility, the study found that the 15 states, including Connecticut, that provide insurance coverage for infertility saw significantly lower multiple birth rates. The authors say this translates into tremendous savings on the costs of maternal/fetal complications. In 2005, it was estimated that the economic impact of preterm birth was $26.2 billion nationally.
IVF is an effective treatment for the reported 7 million women who are infertile, but it is unaffordable for many infertile couples. Since 1998, more states are providing IVF coverage. Connecticut, for instance, covers up to two IVF cycles under state mandate.
In this study, Yale researchers analyzed assisted reproductive technology cycle data from 2006 provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. They categorized that year's 91,753 fresh, non-donor cycles by age group and by whether the cycles were performed in states with or without a mandate for IVF coverage. States with mandates for insurance coverage of infertility treatment not including IVF were characterized as non-mandated states.
The study showed that pregnancy rates, live birth rates, twin and triplets are higher in states without mandated insurance for IVF because they transfer significantly more embryos than states with coverage for IVF. In contrast, insurance coverage for IVF is associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of multiple pregnancy, particularly among younger women under the age of 35.
When IVF is not covered by insurance, physicians often feel pressure from patients who have financial incentive to maximize the per-cycle success by requesting the transfer of more embryos and willing to take the risk of multiple pregnancies, according to senior author Pasquale Patrizio, M.D., professor and director of the Yale Fertility Center in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine.
"Increasing the number of states that provide coverage for IVF would lead to improved maternal-fetal health and lessen the economic impact that multiple births have on the health system and it would also reduce physician pressure to transfer more embryos," said Patrizio. "It does not make economic sense to see insurance not covering IVF but then pay for the costs associated with maternal and neonatal morbidity."
"By reducing the patient's financial burden, state mandates may lead to a reduction in embryos transferred," said first author J. Ryan Martin, M.D., assistant professor at Yale, who sees patients at Yale Fertility Center's new facility in Westport, Conn. "Patients and insurance companies will both benefit from a reduction in multiple pregnancies."