最近的州立法裁决将体外受精(IVF)的话题推到了全国的讨论中, 同时强调了对辅助生殖技术(ART)bet8娱乐的需求和患者试图获得这些bet8娱乐的困难. 在高需求和低供应这一令人沮丧的悖论中,生育护理也不例外, 尽管该行业代表着巨大的市场机会,但患者仍面临着重大的准入障碍.
像这样, 卫生保健领导人必须考虑其与生育保健bet8娱乐和改善获取机会有关的战略. 很明显,夫妻和个人需要并且想要投资于他们的家庭建设目标, 所有医疗保健领导者都可以积极影响患者在这一领域的访问, whether it be through providing direct patient care, partnering with other organizations to provide care, 或者只是为员工提供生育治疗和保存保险. 通过适应他们所bet8娱乐的社区不断变化的需求, 各组织将在积极促进人口健康的同时获得竞争优势.
In a three-part blog series, 我们的妇女健康bet8娱乐热线专家将为您提供必要的信息,以供您在制定组织的生育保健计划时考虑, including an overview of the increasing demand for services, industry trends and growth potential, and key components of providing patient-centric fertility care. In part one, 我们将深入研究推动需求增长的趋势以及这种增长所强调的获取问题.
Demand for Fertility Care bet8娱乐 Continues to Rise
在过去的十年里,美国的生育护理领域有了显著的增长. As shown in figure 1, 从2012年到2021年,美国通过抗逆转录病毒治疗出生的婴儿数量增加了近50%. 美国的生育bet8娱乐市场预计将达到 $16.80亿年 by 2029, there is no end in sight.
There are multiple factors behind this increase.
- 人们选择晚育,这与 a higher incidence of fertility issues. A World Health Organization report published last year found that one in six adults worldwide are affected by infertility, an increase from the previously reported statistic of one in eight.
- Fertility preservation, the process of saving or protecting eggs, 精子, 胚胎, or reproductive tissue for future use, has become increasingly common. Egg-freezing cycles in the US 增加 by approximately 22% from 2018 to 2019 and 31% from 2020 to 2021, demonstrating a year-over-year rise in demand over time, pre- and postpandemic.
- 许多患者群体对抗逆转录病毒治疗的认识和知识有所提高, 下列群体越来越多地求助于这些bet8娱乐,以满足他们建立家庭的需要:
- Heterosexual couples
- LGBTQ+ couples
- Individuals pursuing single parenthood and/or surrogacy
- Individuals electing to preserve their fertility (e.g., egg freezing, 精子 freezing, embryo freezing)
- 患有某些疾病的人希望在治疗前保持生育能力(如.g., a patient with cancer who must undergo chemotherapy)
- 有已知遗传疾病的夫妇利用试管受精和基因检测来避免将这些疾病传给他们的孩子
认识到寻求生育bet8娱乐的广泛人群, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine updated its definition of infertility in 2023 to be more inclusive. 这可能会为保险公司打开大门,扩大他们的生育治疗覆盖范围.g., LGBTQ+ patients, individuals pursuing single parenthood), 这将, 反过来, expand the number of people seeking services.
访问 Remains Limited, Highlighting Health Inequities
Despite the rise in demand for fertility care services, access remains notably difficult for a variety of reasons, as outlined below. 必须指出,在许多这些障碍中存在明显的种族差异, 这一事实继续凸显出美国医疗体系中根深蒂固的不平等. 为了满足需求和解决不平等问题,降低护理障碍应该是贵组织生育护理战略的基本要素.
- Lack of Insurance Coverage: 而美国的一些大雇主已经扩大了他们的医疗保险范围,包括生育治疗, the majority have not. And even when coverage is offered, it often comes with the requisite of an infertility diagnosis, thereby excluding many of the patient groups seeking services (e.g.、LGBTQ+群体成员、追求单亲或保留生育能力的患者). According to RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, less than half 美国各州都通过了各种形式的不孕症保险法律, 其中大多数仍然通过限制支出或每年允许的治疗次数来限制患者
- Cost of Care: Given the lack of sufficient insurance coverage, most patients seeking ART must bear the cost as self-pay patients. 即使有保险,患者也必须自掏腰包为推荐的手术支付数千美元. One round of IVF 成本 在1.5万到3万美元之间,许多患者在治疗期间要接受多轮治疗.
- Long Wait Times: 许多生育诊所要等很长时间才能见到生殖内分泌专家. 备受尊敬的bet8网站备用可能要排好几个月的队等待一次会诊, 在此之后,患者必须再次等待才能开始治疗.
- Care Deserts: 地理位置靠近生育诊所或试管婴儿中心也会阻碍患者寻求治疗. 生育治疗高度专业化,集中在城市和郊区市场,创造 fertility care deserts in rural regions. Black and Hispanic women have reported traveling twice as far as White and Asian women to seek treatment.
- Sociopolitical Factors and Legislative Limitations: 在抗逆转录病毒治疗和总体妇女保健bet8娱乐方面,各州的法律差别很大, leading to two distinct yet equally harmful consequences. First, patients in states with more restrictive laws around the use of 胚胎, clinical treatment options, 药物可能不鼓励寻求治疗或完全禁止获得治疗. Second, providers in these states may choose to limit or completely stop services due to the legal risk and lack of clear and consistent legislation.
- Lack of Information and Stigma of Treatment: 由于各种原因,患者可能会等待寻求与生育有关的帮助, including limited knowledge about their reproductive health, a perceived social stigma around infertility, 以及某些生育治疗的侵入性和繁重性.
Now Is the Time to Invest in Fertility Care
In recent years, 一些bet8网站备用不得不作出关闭或减少其妇女保健bet8娱乐的艰难决定, further exacerbating access and health equity issues. Those that have remained open have done so by strategically evaluating opportunities to build scale and expertise across the care continuum.
The current fertility care landscape, 其中包括对bet8娱乐的高需求和对不孕症的更广泛的定义, offers health systems a unique opportunity to invest in ART, 这将使它们不仅能够使bet8娱乐组合多样化,而且还能改善所bet8娱乐社区的健康状况.
关于 心电图’s Women’s Health bet8娱乐
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Edited by: Emily Johnson
Published April 4, 2024