Word of Mom | Preconception
Real Mom Advice

Artificial Insemination Costs Less Than You Think

Artificial Insemination Cost

Back in the day when I was a single city dweller, I knew that even though I was a total workaholic I wanted to have a baby by the time I turned 30. Before I met my husband, I really didn't have a lot of luck in the love department and was seriously considering turning to a sperm bank if I reached that magical age with no prospective long-term relationship on the horizon. I actually did look into it and was surprised to find out what that the artificial insemination cost was much less than I actually thought it would be!

But alas, I met my now-hubby, and we now have a beautiful baby boy — and a giant, slobbering dog, too! Now that I have a child of my own, I can honestly say that I don't know if I would have been able to handle being a single parent. But that's neither here nor there. Here's everything you ever wanted to know about the real cost of artificial insemination:

I found that the cost of artificial insemination is between $300 and $500. That price is per pregnancy attempt, and it obviously varies depending on what clinic you visit. Since the price isn't way high, I'd recommend going somewhere with great ratings as opposed to choosing a clinic based on price — after all, you probably don't want to mess around with a fly-by-night insemination clinic.

You'll probably need to attempt artificial insemination multiple times. Many couples use this as a method of infertility treatment — kind of the step between not being able to conceive and true IVF treatments, which are much more expensive. How quickly you get pregnant obviously depends on your own body: your age, fertility, etc. Overall, artificial insemination has a 10 to 20 percent success rate — so if you multiply your clinic's per-session rate by five, you'll have a better idea of a minimum amount to budget for this kind of treatment. Whatever that amount is, it's probably still much less than a round of IVF treatments.

Your insurance may cover at least a portion of your treatment. I was honestly surprised by this, but some insurance plans do cover part of your artificial insemination costs. In fact, some states mandate that insurance companies cover all or part of the amount. Apparently, it's because this is a procedure that falls under infertility treatments. To find out if artificial insemination would be covered by your provider, call your member services line, which should be listed on your insurance card.

Have you or anyone you know tried artificial insemination?

Photo Credit: Flickr

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Cortney Galster

Born and bred in Minnesota, Cortney Galster is a small business consultant, writer and shoe-aholic living in the Twin Cities. She lives in the suburbs with her darling husband, adorable baby, and giant drooling dog. You can read more of her work at The Mommyhood Project, CupcakeMag, and CupcakeMag Littles.