Infertility treatment is one of those treatments which are usually on the expensive side and are not covered by the health insurance. Male infertility can require a host of tests to be done to get a confirmed diagnosis of the condition and to ascertain which treatment method to be followed.
How Much Does A Male Fertility Test Cost?
Male fertility test is a broad term that involves various tests and procedures. The tests are generally not covered by the insurance companies and hence one wonders about their cost. Depending upon at what stage the infertility is diagnosed and what tests have been done earlier, the further tests will be decided by the andrologist. They may be very cheap as in case of home tests or quite expensive as in case of lab and hormonal tests. Though there are many options available out there, they should be carried out after a proper consultation with the andrologist or a urologist.
Male fertility testing might include more than one test to get a confirmed diagnosis of the condition:
- The primary step is to discover what the underlying cause is and to treat the same.
- Sometimes a female, sometimes a male and sometimes both are detected with some problems that lead to infertility.
- When a cause is not known it is termed as idiopathic infertility
- Infertility is diagnosed only after a complete evaluation of both the partners
- A female consults her gynec-obs practitioner to get evaluated for a complete picture of her reproductive system, including the uterus, ovaries and the fallopian tube
- A male generally undergoes semen analysis as the first step towards testing for fertility
- If there are any abnormalities found in the semen sample, the male further undergoes a complete evaluation including his medical history, a physical examination, a reproductive evaluation and maybe a few blood tests
- These tests are generally recommended by a urologist, who is specialized in male infertility and is also called an andrologist many times
- Some of the plans may cover up the initial diagnosis charges for infertility
- However, most of them don’t provide any sort of coverage related to infertility tests and treatments
- Some other options to be considered when thinking of the cost factor are home tests- which may cause anywhere between $25 to $60. Home test kits are very convenient to use and are cost-effective. They can also provide a basic picture on what the status of the fertility factor in a male is
- Lab tests- lab tests may cause anywhere from $100 to $300 in the US, depending upon the place of residence.
- Some clinics initially offer a free or a low-cost evaluation to attract more patients to their labs
- If the home tests or lab tests come out to be unsatisfactory, it is a good idea to get yourself evaluated by a urologist for further confirmatory tests
- The urologist may recommend some hormonal tests, based on the physical and medical evaluation carried out by him. This might get covered in the insurance as men’s health check, but again, you need to check with your insurance company.
- If any other condition is suspected like a cancer, then other relevant tests may be needed to be carried out, which will be recommended by the andrologist.
After all this testing is done for male infertility, you may further wonder about the male infertility treatment costing. Here are some guidelines on the same. The treatment of male infertility will largely depend upon the diagnosed cause of condition.
Some of the common treatments that are recommended for male infertility are certain lifestyle changes like quitting and smoking which will cost you nothing and certain other treatments like taking nutritional supplements which may improve the semen quality and quantity if that is a cause, medications, reproductive surgeries, assisted reproduction techniques etc. depending upon the cause and other factors related to infertility.
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