How to evaluate fertility benefits vendors: A strategic framework for HR leaders

In a competitive talent market and evolving legislative landscape, offering comprehensive reproductive and family benefits can feel both urgent and complex. While fertility benefits are becoming essential for a modern workforce, 93% of employers say that they’re concerned about the rising cost of fertility care. A strong benefits partner can make it easier for employers to provide best-in-class fertility benefits while keeping costs in check. However, with many vendor options out there, employers need to be strategic about who they partner with to maximize impact and minimize costs.

Maven's Chief Growth Officer Will Porteous recently sat down with Charna Martini, AVP of Health Transformation at Aon, to talk about fertility benefits strategy. Read on for a practical, strategic framework HR leaders can use to make smart, confident choices that balance employee expectations and business needs.

Understanding the rising stakes of fertility care

While fertility benefits were once a niche offering at a select few companies, they've become mainstream. Porteous shared that fewer than 20% of employers covered fertility benefits just a few years ago. Now, that number has increased to over 50%.

Infertility rates are rising, many millennial and Gen-Z employees are waiting longer to start families, and paths to parenthood are increasingly diverse for LGBTQIA+ families and single parents, all of which have driven up demand. Even more, employees have come to expect fertility and family-building support from their employer, with 69% of employees saying they have taken, considered taking, or might take a new job because it offered better reproductive and family benefits.

Family-building journeys are often expensive, making employer support all the more important to employees. Three in four employees face financial strain when navigating fertility treatment, and 33% are spending more than $50,000 on their fertility journey.

A lack of fertility support can be costly for employee productivity and retention too. 91% of people with fertility challenges say it’s impacted their mental health. On the other hand, 83% of Maven members reported being more productive at work during fertility treatment from having Maven’s support, and nearly all Maven-supported employees return to work after parental leave. 

When working with health insurance support alone or a check-the-box vendor, employees may not have the family-building education and support they need, leading them to seek unnecessary and expensive fertility treatments prematurely and driving up costs. Reproductive and family benefits are more than just health benefits—they're a crucial investment in talent and culture.

A three-part framework for evaluating fertility benefits vendors

For HR and benefits leaders, Martini recommends a three-part framework for evaluating fertility benefits vendors.

1. Define your business and workforce goals

First, clarify what problem (or problems) you’re solving. Are you looking to control business costs? Are these benefits important for company values like inclusion and access, or are they important for attracting and retaining talent?

Next, consider your specific workforce demographics. Are a lot of your employees at prime family-building age (between ages 25 and 45)? Do you have a global workforce, or are all of your employees U.S. based? How competitive is the talent market in your industry?

You can also start gathering data to better understand employee needs and demand. Internal data like NICU admission rates and multiple births paired with qualitative input through employee surveys and focus groups can help you determine where to start and what to prioritize.

Lastly in this stage, be sure to establish criteria for success. These success metrics can look like cost containment, certain clinical outcomes (lower NICU admissions, fertility treatment rates, and C-section rates, for example), and employee satisfaction.

2. Match vendor capabilities to your needs

With different strengths and focus areas, not all fertility vendors are created equal. When selecting employee benefits, you'll want to map the vendor's specialities and capabilities to what you need most.

"We start with what the employer is trying to solve for," says Martini. "Not every vendor is a fit for every organization. While many fertility vendors seem to offer similar things, they go about it in a different way."

Consider key dimensions like:

• Scope: While some vendors may only cover IVF, others offer a broader range of coverage spanning from preconception care to perimenopause and menopause support. In addition to covering IVF and preconception care, the scope should also include adoption and surrogacy.
• Global support: If your company has a global footprint, ensure your vendor does too. For a global workforce, your benefits provider needs to be compliant and operational in all countries where you have employees, and they should be able to manage global compliance so your team doesn’t have to understand the nuances of global family-building rules and legislation.
• Care model: Does the vendor only offer clinical coverage, or is their coverage and care more holistic? Look for emotional and financial components in addition to the purely clinical care.
• Navigation: The benefits platform should be easily accessible and user-friendly. See if users can schedule appointments directly in the platform and filter by provider background to better fit their specific needs. Additionally, note how the employee can engage when they need support.
• Integration: You also want to consider the connectivity and integration between existing benefits platforms, as well as connections to prescription support, in-person care, health plans, and employee assistance programs (EAP).
• Admin experience: While some vendors kick the administrative logistics back to you, other benefits providers streamline processes like reimbursement to lighten your team's workload.

3. Evaluate impact and experience—both for HR and for employees

Expanding on the vendor matching considerations, you want to evaluate potential vendors based on the experience and support they provide for both your employees and your benefits team. For business leaders especially, a big consideration is the cost impact. See if the vendor has partnerships and connections to negotiate lower rates. Ensure that they’re not marking up services to pass on a higher cost to your company or your employees.

To evaluate vendor quality, you should also look at clinical metrics, such as rates of single-embryo transfers, miscarriage rates, and successful pregnancies. For the best user experience, the platform should be intuitive and easy to navigate, allowing for quick scheduling and dedicated support contacts. Martini highlights the importance of having a dedicated Care Advocate who "knows the employee's story and what their experience has been, so they’re leading with empathy. They're not starting from square one with a new provider every single time."

Additionally, an inclusive fertility benefits program offers support for non-birthing parents, as well as specific LGBTQIA+ support and culturally competent care. "This isn't just a women's journey; it's a family journey," Martini reiterates. "Irrespective of gender and who's carrying the baby, it's very important that everyone feels involved in the family-building process."

When it comes to reporting, make sure the vendor can provide data to demonstrate ROI and identify any gaps in care. Robust reporting also helps with compliance and state mandates.

Don’t forget the financial case: How to make it CFO-ready

If the initial investment seems daunting, it doesn't need to be. Many fertility vendors use case-based pricing, which limits the upfront cost exposure. "Most fertility benefits are paid based on utilization," Martini says. "So you're not paying a flat PEPM. If you are, it's very low for the platform." This means if your employee population is not seeking much fertility support, the costs will be minimal.

When it comes to long-term ROI, fertility benefits can reduce absenteeism, improve retention, and result in fewer costly claims. Better clinical results also lower overall benefits costs. Nearly one-third of Maven members achieve pregnancy without any assisted reproductive technology (ART), which is a major cost saver—a single round of IVF can cost upwards of $20,000. Reduced NICU admission rates, fewer C-sections, and lower ED admissions help companies reduce healthcare costs while also supporting their employees better.

Adoption and surrogacy benefits: A smart entry point

If you’re not ready to offer full fertility coverage, Martini advises starting reimbursement for expenses related to adoption and surrogacy. Employees don't adopt children or go through the surrogacy process because of a benefit—they’re very likely already on that path. "It just goes a step farther to support them," Martini says. "It says 'we care about you and we want to support you in growing your family, however you decide to do that.'"

This gesture of financial and emotional support can be a meaningful signal of care and inclusion for employees. In addition to being expensive, surrogacy and adoption journeys are logistically complex, so having vendor support matters more than coverage alone. "It's usually a really easy lift on the employer—you can start small and build up," says Martini. "Then you can see what the uptick is and what the engagement's like. Unless people are utilizing it, it's not costing you anything."

Common mistakes when evaluating vendors

When evaluating fertility benefits vendors, it can seem tempting to automatically go for the vendor with the largest network size, but the provider quality and a clinically-sound model that drives proven outcomes are also essential. Similarly, user experience and intuitive navigability are paramount to ensure employees actually use the platform. When interfaces and tools are overly complex or clunky, there's lower engagement.

Additionally, make sure to align new vendor support with your existing benefits structure. Don't forget about what you already have in place when it comes to prescriptions, maternity care, and employee assistance programs (EAPs). Easy integration is key to reduce the lift for your HR team. Lastly, confirm the benefits vendor can support you with legal compliance, especially when it comes to evolving state mandates and federal executive orders.

Next steps: How to get started

Beyond the actual benefits infrastructure and logistics, employer-sponsored fertility benefits are a strategic differentiator and valuable signal of care in a competitive talent market. The right benefits vendor for your company should align with your goals, your employee population, and your values. 

To find your best-fit fertility benefits partner, start by reviewing your existing claims data and employee demographics. Survey employees and conduct focus groups to see what support employees are needing and what their priorities are. When considering factors like scope, care model, integration, and user experience, identify your must-have features vs. the nice-to-have features in a fertility benefits partner. From there, you can use RFP tools or work with a consultant to vet vendors side by side and find the best fit for your specific needs.

Want help? Maven can help you benchmark your existing reproductive and family benefits package and explore what best-in-class fertility benefits look like for your organization. Chat with our team today to learn more.