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New at this whole GS thing

Hello there, as I said in my profile, me and my husband are new at this. I'm not quite sure where to go from here... We've decided that we really wanna do this, as long as is a Gestational Surrogacy. I don't know the pros and cons of doing through and agency or not... any thoughts?

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Permalink Reply by Bruna on July 3, 2009 at 7:09pm: Not sure if I was clear...just making sure, I'm looking to become a GS ;); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bruna on July 4, 2009 at 12:35pm: Thanks Allison!
What agency are you with? I've been googling but can't find any that will work with a GS from Missouri; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by jodi on July 10, 2009 at 12:53am: These are the states my agency will not work with NY, NJ, NH, DC, MI and Washington State. Check them out if you decide to go through an agency. My IP's and I have been very pleased with them.
http://www.reproductivelawyer.com/

Good luck!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Cara on July 10, 2009 at 10:31am: I am working with A Womans Gift and just browsed their website again and didnt see where they exclude any states. I am in Mass and have New Jersey IP's. I highly recommend my agency though, Fran is a pleasure to work with. Good luck!!

http://www.awomansgift.com/index.php

-Cara (GS to L&B edd 11.27); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by GinaF on July 6, 2009 at 1:59pm: What part of Missouri are you in? Maybe if you are close enough to state lines you could have an IL doc and deliver in IL. IDK if that helps since I'm not sure about Missouri surrogacy laws.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bruna on July 10, 2009 at 12:39pm: Thanks ladies,
GinaF I've been checking IL out. I'm in the Kansas city area and to St Louis is about 3 hours drive...so I guess that would be possible ;)
Thank you for enlightening me :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dana on July 10, 2009 at 12:56pm: Bruna,

I'm in KC, also. I was accepted by tons of agencies. Fertility Bridges, Simple Surrogacy, Creative Family Connections, ProLiviti, Family Source Consultants (when I thought I had insurance that would cover the pregnancy), Miracles Egg Donation (although I didn't care for them, you might have a better experience). I know there were others, but these are the one's I can think of. Good luck! Oh, I really like Fertility Bridges, the surrogate coordinator there (Leah), is just awesome!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bruna on July 10, 2009 at 2:01pm: Hey there neighbor :P
I just found out my insurance won't cover it, that is, won't cover surrogate pregnancy...
Is there a way to get around that? Are there IPs willing to pay for the whole medical part without the aid of health insurance? Or is there a "special" surrogacy health plan I can get? :/; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dana on July 10, 2009 at 2:15pm: Oh, Bruna. This is the bind that my wonderful and amazing IP's are in right this very second. I have BCBS of KC. The only exclusion it has is for "surrogate parenting" in the INFERTILITY section. They say they won't cover the pregnancy. I have filed a complaint with the MO. Dept. of Insurance and a greivance with BCBS. Anyway, back on track. I have called at least 10 insurance brokers trying to find an individual plan. They all say the same thing-there are no plans that meet my needs. There are no plans in MO. that don't exclude surrogacy, and most individual plans have a 2 year waiting period for maternity. So, learn from my research-there are no individual plans for us. Poop. The ladies on SMO say that it isn't impossible to find IP's who will just cover the pregnancy out of pocket. And then there are "surrogacy" plans that the IP's can buy, but they are VERY expensive. So it all depends on if you can find IP's who want to go one of these routes. If I can't convince BCBS to cover my pregnancy I'm going to lose my IP's, which breaks my heart. I can only hope to find other IP's that will think I am worth the expense of the surro insurance/no insurance. I would reccomend checking out Fertility Bridges agency. Leah told me that the IP's know if you don't have insurance they will have to buy the expensive plan. So if my match falls through I'm going back with them. It may take FOREVER to get matched, but I'm not willing to give up on my dream just yet. Sorry if I bursted your bubble at all. I just don't want you to learn the hard way, like I have. I wish you lots of luck. Hopefully living in MO won't screw us completely! Wow, sorry, I wrote a book.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bruna on July 10, 2009 at 2:51pm: No, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INSIGHT! My health insurance company CIGNA actually does cover the surrogacy but that's not included in the plan we have. And we have it through my husbands company and THEY don't wanna pay for the plan. And I can't add anything to ours privately, is all about what the company wants, which sucks! I'll check the Fertility Bridges agency.
Thanks again; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dana on July 10, 2009 at 2:56pm: Wow, that totally stinks. SO close! Good luck, keep me posted. If I find something usefull I will let you know.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dana on July 10, 2009 at 3:11pm: Have you had your husband ASK his HR department if there is a maternity rider you can add to your plan at your expense? If so, that would be perfect.; ▶ Reply to This