Each year, men and women of all ages undergo hormone replacement therapy to treat the various signs and symptoms of imbalanced hormones, such as hot flashes, depression, and a loss of libido.
If you’re curious as to how much treatment will cost you, you need to take a look at the bigger picture. It’s not just about the treatment itself. Your individual symptoms, medical history, and any inherent risks all factor into the treatment you’re prescribed, which affects the medication, dosage, and longevity of your hormone treatment.
In most cases, treatment costs can be broken down to:
- Medical services.
- Vitamins and supplement costs
- Medication costs.
- Blood and lab work.
Will my insurance cover it?
Typically, hormone therapy’s true out-of-pocket expenses are difficult to pin down, as they vary wildly from patient to patient, provider to provider, insurer to insurer. You see, every treatment plan is individualized to your exact needs, so just as there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to treatment, the same is true for pricing.
If you lack the requisite health coverage, the prescription alone can cost anywhere between $30 to $50 for men, and $40 to $60 for women (per month). This price is dependent on the treatment administered (pill, patch, gel, or cream), the extent of the treatment required, as well as the type of artificial or bioidentical hormones used.
When you combine the cost of medication with the various other services and consultations, treatment can average anywhere between $250 – $500 per month. Do note that your costs should fall over time. The initial outlay is often higher, as the amount of lab work and consultations required to track the root cause of your symptoms, and then tailor a plan to suit, are time-intensive tasks.
Given the differences in pricing, it’s always best to consult with your local hormone doctor – and your insurer – to see just what you need, and how much your insurer will cover. Most insurers will front up for most, if not all, of the ongoing prescriptions costs, while some have also been known to cover lab work. If yours doesn’t (some deem hrt as a proactive treatment), institutes like Genesys have access to local lab accounts and compounding pharmacies, allowing them to provide huge discounts where costs are often 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of other pharmacies.
Lab work, for example, can cost upwards of $1,500 without financial help from your insurer, but providers like Genesys Medical Institute go that extra mile to ensure your health comes first by providing a FREE initial hormone evaluation, followed by a 45 minute review of labs for half the normal cost at just $75.
Is the treatment worth it?
Ultimately, your decision to undergo treatment comes down to your personal circumstances, and what you’re realistically able to afford. Just keep in mind that the cost of treatment can often far outweigh the costs involved in treating further ailments and illnesses that arise as a result of hormonal imbalances, such as anxiety and depression, chronic fatigue, or a low sex drive. So ask yourself, could you put a price on your happiness and well-being? And if so, what would that amount be?