Economic Implications of Assisted Reproductive Technology

To the Editor: Neumann et al. (July 28 issue) 1 indicate that the cost of having one child with in vitro fertilization begins at $66,667 and can rise as high as $800,000. This cost analysis is inappropriate. It includes such variables as travel time to appointments and time lost at work because of the treatment. It does not take into account the incidence of depression and the additional cost of mental health visits and days lost from work that would be saved if infertility was treated appropriately and the treatment was covered by insurance. The analysis also does not consider the . . .