Keiai Reproductive Medicine Clinic Launches Self-Pay ART Support Plan to Ease Costs After Insurance Coverage Ends

Keiai Reproductive Medicine Clinic says that from the day after in vitro fertilization under insurance coverage ends, patients may continue receiving the same treatment while facing a major increase in out-of-pocket costs. Egg retrieval and intracytoplasmic sperm injection alone can cost more than three times the insured rate, while embryo transfer can cost about 3.4 times more. The reality of “wanting to continue treatment but not having the money” is statistically serious. Many patients interrupt or give up treatment after becoming ineligible for insurance coverage. In particular, patients who have reached the insurance-covered cycle limit and those who become ineligible because they are aged 43 or older face significant psychological and financial damage, while concrete support for this group remains insufficient across the medical field. The clinic’s director and spouse have personally experienced infertility treatment and recurrent pregnancy loss. Their journey included three miscarriages, high treatment costs, and the extreme despair of a miscarriage at 17 weeks of pregnancy. They eventually conceived twins through their fifth embryo transfer. Through this experience, they came to understand firsthand how financial anxiety can damage a patient’s motivation to continue treatment. The new Self-Pay ART Support Plan was designed as the best way to return value to patients within the current insurance framework, while carrying forward the spirit of the clinic’s success-based fee system adopted since its opening. The Self-Pay ART Support Plan is a discount support program for patients undergoing IVF outside insurance coverage. It offers surgical fees for egg retrieval, embryo transfer, embryo culture, embryo freezing, and related procedures at a level equivalent to the 30% patient burden under insured care. Eligible patients include those who have exceeded the insurance-covered IVF cycle limit, those aged 43 or older and under 50 who are no longer covered because of the age limit, and all patients considering self-pay IVF, whether new or existing patients. Fees eligible for the discount include egg retrieval surgery, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), embryo culture, embryo freezing, and frozen embryo transfer surgery. Fees not covered by the discount include medication, injections, testing, and advanced medical treatments such as ERA and PGT-A, which remain fully self-pay. For patients already receiving treatment at the clinic, the plan can be used for up to two embryo transfers, with no limit on egg retrieval cycles. For patients newly starting treatment at the clinic, it can be used for up to one embryo transfer, with no limit on egg retrieval cycles. After the plan ends, standard self-pay rates apply. Japan’s high-cost medical expense benefit system does not apply, and coverage by private medical insurance should be confirmed with each insurer. Under the plan, surgical fees for egg retrieval, embryo transfer, embryo culture, and embryo freezing are set at a level equivalent to the 30% burden under insured care. Medication, injection, and testing fees remain fully self-pay. A standard treatment cycle from egg retrieval to embryo freezing is estimated at about 200,000 yen, compared with about 386,000 yen under regular self-pay care. One embryo transfer is estimated at about 87,000 yen, compared with about 188,000 yen under regular self-pay care. Costs may vary depending on injection volume, number of eggs retrieved, and hormone medication use. Fees for advanced medical treatments such as ERA and PGT-A are unchanged, and the high-cost medical expense benefit system is not applicable. The clinic says it was founded by a physician and nurse couple who personally experienced infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss treatment. Their ultimate goal is to reduce to zero the number of patients who give up the possibility of pregnancy for financial reasons. The Self-Pay ART Support Plan is only the first step. Going forward, the clinic plans to strengthen early fertility support centered on its “Egg Dock” program, expanding ovarian function assessment and lifestyle improvement guidance for people in their 20s and 30s, and promoting intervention before infertility treatment becomes necessary. It will also continue studying new fee models that inherit the spirit of success-based fees, while strengthening information outreach based on the experience and expertise of medical professionals who have also been patients, so that patients can make decisions based on accurate medical information. The clinic director is Hiroshi Hayashi. The clinic says that, as the phrase “Tender Loving Care” suggests, continuing to stand beside every patient remains its unchanged commitment. Article details: https://www.tenderlovingcare.jp/fee/#head01