Artificial insemination: cost

and Eva Rudolf-Müller, doctor

Nicole Wendler holds a PhD in biology in the field of oncology and immunology. As a medical editor, author and proofreader, she works for various publishers, for whom she presents complex and extensive medical issues in a simple, concise and logical manner.

More about the experts

Eva Rudolf-Müller is a freelance writer in the medical team. She studied human medicine and newspaper sciences and has repeatedly worked in both areas - as a doctor in the clinic, as a reviewer, and as a medical journalist for various specialist journals. She is currently working in online journalism, where a wide range of medicine is offered to everyone.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

What will artificial insemination cost? This is a question that concerns many couples who want to use reproductive medicine to fulfill their desire to have children. However, there is no general answer to this. Depending on the method, the costs can vary greatly. Read here what expenses you should roughly expect and under what conditions and from which source you can expect grants.

What does artificial insemination cost?

There are always costs associated with assisted reproduction. The financial costs range from around 100 euros to several thousand euros. In addition, there may be expenses for medication and sample storage.

Statutory and private insurers pay different amounts for artificial insemination: The costs are partially reimbursed, but different regulations for married and unmarried as well as for homosexual and heterosexual couples make the situation more difficult. Government grants also depend on where you live.

How many euros you actually have to pay yourself is made up of the share of the health insurance, government subsidies and tax benefits for artificial insemination.

Costs: Statutory health insurance

If you are married, the statutory health insurance funds (GKV) cover around half of the costs. Artificial insemination, however, usually does not work the first time. The approved number of experiments per method is therefore also relevant. The health insurance company pays the allowance for the spouse on a pro rata basis, which means that each insured person has to submit their own application.

Important prerequisites for a cost sharing are:

• clear medical indication
• detailed medical advice
• Minimum age for both spouses: 25 years
• Upper age limit: women 40, men 50 years
• Fertilization only with own sperm cells
• AIDS test
• medical confirmation of success and treatment plan for artificial insemination

The GKVs do not pay the costs for cryopreservation of egg or sperm cells and subsequent embryo transfer.

Some company health insurances now grant more than 50 percent of the costs. It is best to contact your health insurer before treatment and clarify the conditions of a cost sharing in the case of artificial insemination.

Costs: private health insurance

If you have private health insurance, you must check your contract to find out what the individual requirements are for assumption of costs. Basically, there must be a medically confirmed chance of success as well as a reproductive-medicine-relevant clinical picture for the unfulfilled desire to have children. According to this, fertile lesbian couples, for example, have no chance of being covered in the case of artificial insemination.

According to the so-called polluter pays principle, the reason for the infertility must lie with the privately insured person (not with the partner who is not under contract with this private insurance). In addition, requirements regarding age and number of attempts may apply. Also clarify whether you should apply to your private health insurance company for approval before starting therapy.

In contrast to statutory health insurances, private health insurances do not require insured persons to contribute to fertility treatment - they basically assume all costs of artificial insemination.

Costs: State subsidies depending on where you live

The state subsidizes medical fertility treatment - provided that the federal state in which a couple lives participates with its own state funding program at least as much as the federal government. Corresponding cooperation agreements are currently in place with:

• Bavaria
• Brandenburg
• Hesse
• North Rhine-Westphalia
• Berlin
• Lower Saxony
• Thuringia
• Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
• Saxony
• Saxony-Anhalt

Other federal states, including Rhineland-Palatinate, have expressed interest in cooperation.

A grant can be granted for complete treatments from the first to fourth treatment cycle of in virto fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). This subsidy can amount to up to 25 percent of the remaining costs after settlement with the health insurance, which couples have to pay themselves (own contribution). The exact amount depends on the scope and other conditions of the respective state funding.

For married couples, the co-payment is usually reduced to up to 25 percent for the first to third attempts at artificial insemination. On the fourth attempt, the co-payment is reduced to up to 50 percent, because the health insurances usually only fund three attempts.

In the case of unmarried couples, the co-payment for the first to third attempts is usually reduced by up to 12.5 percent and for the fourth attempt by up to 25 percent.

An application for funding must be submitted to the granting authority responsible for the respective federal state before treatment begins.

Artificial insemination: tax deductible costs?

If you have to pay for the artificial insemination yourself, you have the option of deducting the expenses for tax purposes. IUI, IVF and ICSI are considered curative treatment and are deductible as extraordinary expenses, including medication and travel expenses. It does not matter whether the reason for the unfulfilled desire to have children lies with the man or the woman.

In the case of married couples, this also applies to fertilization with foreign donor sperm. Couples living in a same-sex relationship can also have the treatment tax deductible, according to a 2017 ruling. If reproductive therapy abroad does not comply with the German Embryo Protection Act, no tax reduction is possible.

IVF and ICSI costs

Usually several attempts are necessary for a successful pregnancy. For both IVF and ICSI, you can expect to be covered (in full or in part) for three attempts. If IVF or ICSI with foreign donor sperm is necessary, the GKVs do not pay for the artificial insemination.

Insemination costs

Most GKVs cover 50 percent of the costs for eight non-hormonal and three previously stimulated cycles. If the husband is unsuitable as a donor, the operation must be paid for himself. If an operation is necessary to extract sperm from the testicular tissue (TESE / MESA), the costs can increase significantly.

Artificial insemination: Benefits for society as a whole

Unfortunately, the sense of responsibility and commitment with which the decision to use artificial insemination is connected is offset by a still inconsistent and sometimes arbitrary cost assumption regulation. The commitment of a couple and the associated benefit to society as a whole should be better appreciated. This includes asking "What does artificial insemination cost?" can be answered more easily through clear statutory regulations from the state and health insurance companies.

Each couple still has to determine individually what artificial insemination will cost.

Tags:  stress travel medicine alcohol