Once just a trend, managed family building benefits are now a business necessity

In today’s competitive environment, companies need to have an inclusive family-building program to attract, retain and maximize the productivity of top talent during their years of planning for and raising children.

A managed fertility benefit — which provides financial reimbursement plus clinical oversight, education and counseling for family-building options — is the fiscally sound way for companies to support employees, build loyalty and slash costs from disruptive staff turnover.

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The family-building years are challenging for employees, given the need for long hours and career dedication. Fortunately, when an inclusive family-building program is part of a business’ culture, staff can vigorously pursue their careers with the safety of knowing they can plan for a future family with their employer’s full support. Not meeting this new standard means losing out on attracting, retaining and getting the best performance from top talent.

Offering workplace flexibility and work-life balance conducive to family life improves employee morale and productivity and makes employers more attractive to job-seekers. The core of any family-building program is a targeted fertility benefit, which addresses the costs faced by employees who require family-building options, such as in vitro fertilization or other assisted reproductive technologies, reproductive genetic testing, egg-freezing, surrogacy or adoption.

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Employees value fertility benefits because coverage under employers’ health plans is often limited to routine coverage for maternity and pediatric services. But with a managed fertility benefit, the expense of providing reimbursement for non-covered family-building services can be well-controlled. And given the cost and disruption that comes from losing top talent, not offering a managed fertility benefit may cost even more.

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Employers that offer fertility benefits help cover costs of $15,000 to $30,000 per IVF cycle, and more for adoption or surrogacy. Equally important are the savings the employer realizes, as the managed benefit increases the intended parents’ health and productivity through behavioral counseling, and provides professional guidance that frees up hours employees otherwise spend researching fertility options.

Similarly, some women may consider egg-freezing to reduce the risk of deferring the start of their family during the early years of their career. Covering egg-freezing costs — typically about $8,000 to $10,000, plus medications and storage — is far less expensive than losing a rising-star executive to a competitor that offers a fertility benefit.

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Choosing the right fertility benefit is critical. There are two basic options. One is an unmanaged benefit, essentially a pool of money that employees use as they see fit. Employees navigate their own path through a complicated fertility environment and make their own spending decisions. Costs are then reimbursed, up to specified per-event or lifetime limits. Unmanaged plans cost companies more because they offer employees no guidance and put no guardrails around spending.

A far better option is the surprisingly cost-effective managed benefit. By fully integrating financial support with clinical oversight, education and counseling, a managed benefit yields two desired outcomes: reduced spending for companies, better support and outcomes for employees. The guidance from clinical experts in managed benefits increases the likelihood of healthy, full-term singleton babies. This reduces C-sections, pre-term births and NICU expenses, which research shows can cost between $64,000-$80,000.

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By contrast, employees with an unmanaged benefit get no assistance and, therefore, more frequently choose treatments that raise the likelihood for twins, triplets or other high-order multiple gestations. This often leads to NICU admissions and long-term healthcare costs for developmental problems, asthma, or cerebral palsy. Not only is this a bad outcome for the parents, but it is very costly to the employer whose group health policy will be responsible for this increased utilization.

The bottom line is that a managed benefit provides higher success rates with reduced medical costs on multiple fronts. Coupled with the value-add of improved recruitment, retention and productivity, a managed benefit might even pay for itself.

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Companies are at an advantage when they provide an inclusive family-building program that allows employees to have access to the same level of support, regardless of what type of family-building services or treatment they may need. With a managed infertility benefit, companies limit their financial exposure while gaining immeasurable value from having happy, supported, and productive employees.