Why family-forming benefits are an asset to your benefit package

Many employees in today’s workforce want to start a family, but doing so can be difficult. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 20 percent of married women in the U.S. ages 15 to 49 with no prior births are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying.^[1] The number of employees struggling to build a family increase when you factor in same-sex couples and individuals hoping to build a family without a partner. While fertility services can help, they can be expensive and out of reach for those who do not have family-forming benefits as part of their insurance coverage.

Couples and individuals often lack coverage for assisted reproductive technology (ART), foster care, or adoption services that could be used to support family formation. While ART has the potential to help many people build a family, only a little over 2 percent of all infants born in the U.S. every year are conceived using ART.^[2] According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the cost of ART can range anywhere from approximately $40,000 to $73,000, putting this support out of reach for those without family-forming benefits who cannot pay this price to start a family.^[3] This coverage gap can be problematic for employees and employers who do not provide family-forming benefits.

Why employers should invest in family-forming benefits

On the surface, family-forming benefits may seem only to serve employees, but they can also be advantageous to employers’ recruitment and retention efforts. The drive to build a family is so strong that employees may often seek out an employer who offers family-forming benefits, causing employers to lose the talent they have and fail to attract new talent.

Riley Steinmetz, vice president of marketing at Carrot Fertility, explains the extent to which a lack of fertility benefits can impact employers. “Our research has shown that 65 percent of employees are willing to change jobs for fertility benefits. That tells us that this benefit is critical for today’s workforce,” she said.

As great as the demand is for family-forming benefits, most states do not require insurers to cover fertility services. According to Ms. Steinmetz, despite the lack of coverage requirements, many employers choose plans that offer family-forming benefits. “Fertility benefits are integral to creating an inclusive company culture that keeps employees happy and satisfied while attracting new talent,” she said. “In fact, 75 percent consider fertility benefits at work to be an important part of an inclusive company culture,” she added. Steinmetz explains that offering these benefits can be a great investment for employers. “More than 60 percent of employers have said offering infertility coverage helped them attract and retain talent,” she said.

Steinmetz explains another reason why fertility coverage is critical for employers: productivity. Because family-forming journeys from fertility treatments to adoption are logistically challenging, they can contribute to presenteeism and a dip in productivity. For example, treatments like in vitro fertilization (IVF), one type of ART, can involve several treatment cycles, multiple provider visits, and weeks of time. “Building your family is an incredible and exciting journey, but it can also be complex and time consuming. Without the right support, navigating those financial and logistical obstacles can have a major impact on work performance,” she said.

Employers who offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes a fertility platform like Carrot can support women from pre-pregnancy to postpartum, including adoption and surrogacy, through return to work.

Introducing Carrot

UPMC Health Plan works with Carrot Fertility to help employers offer comprehensive, inclusive fertility health and family-forming benefits that are accessible and affordable. As the leading global fertility care platform, Carrot advises members and their families through these and other family-forming measures:

Perimenopause and menopause
Low testosterone (low T)
Infant care and parenting (ages 0-12)
Pregnancy and postpartum
Fertility health and wellness (e.g., hormone testing, trying to get pregnant)
Preservation (egg, embryo, or sperm freezing)
Assisted reproduction, like IVF and IUI
Adoption
Donor assistance and gestational surrogacy

UPMC Health Plan can support your whole workforce

As one of the nation's fastest-growing health plans, we know what it takes to thrive in a competitive marketplace—healthy employees with the benefits they need to support all areas of their lives.

Because healthier employees are less likely to call in sick or use vacation time due to illness, helping them feel healthier and more productive, supportive health benefits can prevent absenteeism and presenteeism—which can help companies operate successfully.^[4] It’s important to remember that employees may need different types of support to reach this goal, depending on their situation. For those employees focused on starting or raising a family, specialized resources may be required. That is why we partner with Carrot Fertility and pair it with offerings that support every aspect of a family-forming journey by offering access to:

UPMC Health Plan maternity health coaches who provide support, education, and resources to help increase the chances of having a healthy pregnancy, a healthy baby, and a healthy postpartum recovery.
Virtual urgent care 24/7, including behavioral health tools and programs to support maternal mental health.
Top-ranked doctors and hospitals, including UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital.

Attract and retain your workforce with family-forming benefits

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