Costco is making a bold move into fertility care.
The members-only retailer announced last Monday that it will begin offering fertility treatments to its customers at a deeply discounted price through a new national partnership with healthcare providers.
The initiative brings together telehealth provider Sesame and fertility clinic IVI RMA North America will provide a full range of services including in vitro fertilization (IVF), egg freezing and intrauterine insemination (IUI).
Most notably, the service will reduce one of the biggest costs in fertility care, offering savings of up to 80% on medications, including Follistim, which can cost around $2,000 per cartridge. As a result, patients could save thousands of dollars on each cycle.
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A Costco store in Alhambra, California, United States, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The company says the program is designed to remove one of the biggest barriers to care for the one in six Americans struggling with infertility, making fertility treatment more accessible than ever.
“Our partnership with Sesame and IVI RMA reflects our commitment to transparent and affordable solutions that reduce barriers, are more accessible and more affordable for our members,” said Richard Stephens, senior vice president of pharmacy at Costco. “By combining transparent pricing with coordinated care, we are removing barriers that have historically prevented too many families from receiving quality fertility treatment.”
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A nurse communicating with a patient. (Getty/Getty Images)
The program and its specially negotiated discounts are exclusively accessible to Costco Memberswho pay a membership fee to access the store and its offers.
The program is available nationwide and can be viewed online.
Costco pharmacies will distribute necessary medications to patients using the company’s exclusive fertility services partnerships. (Toronto Star archives/Toronto Star via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The program combines live Sesame access to telehealth for treatment planning, IVI RMA North America’s specialty clinics for medical procedures and Costco Pharmacy to provide necessary medications.
Through Sesame, patients can complete diagnostic assessments and workups, allowing doctors to develop a personalized treatment plan.
If patients need major specialized procedures such as IVF or IUI, they are connected to IVI RMA clinics where discounts have been negotiated for Costco members.
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The IVI RMA network also offers preimplantation genetic testing of embryos (PGT-A), single embryo transfers, fertility preservation, and specialized fertility care for LGBTQ+ patients.
