ANALYSIS OF HEALTH-INSURANCE COVER FOR REPRODUCTIVE IMMUNOLOGY

The objective of this study was to document the current state of healt h insurance cover for reproductive immunology in the USA, A survey of couples who had given birth to a child within the last 2 years while t hey were being treated with lymphocyte immunotherapy at the Reproducti ve Medicine Clinic of the Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chic ago Medical School (FUHS/CMS), North Chicago, IL, USA, produced 61 com pleted questionnaires from couples in 16 states, representing a respon se rate of 55%, The Reproductive Medicine Clinic at the FUHS/CMS is a major centre that treats couples,vith reproductive immunological probl ems, These couples had experienced repeated pregnancy losses that were diagnosed as immunological in nature. This prospective study document s the insurance reimbursement of couples receiving lymphocyte immunoth erapy who subsequently became parents, The findings indicate that 80% of couples had insurance claims initially denied for reproductive immu notherapy-related services, The most common reason given for a denied claim was that the treatment was experimental, Couples took further ac tion and almost all received cover, Cover for immunotherapy-related se rvices averaged 65% of the cost, The percentage of expenses covered by the insurance was quite variable, The survey indicates that insurance cover is provided if patients are willing to take action.