Can you get your fallopian tubes untied for free so you can get pregnant again?
Reversing tubal sterilization comes with financial challenges because the voluntary procedure was intended as a permanent form of birth control.
This post will teach you where to seek assistance and help you set realistic expectations.
Lowering costs is more realistic as 60% of couples can use three IRS-sanctioned programs, and 100% can buy insurance covering their goal (pregnancy) or start a crowdfunding campaign.
It is not likely that costs can be eliminated, as very few couples might win a contest, be picked for a medical study, or find a charity with enough funds available.
Free Tubal Reversal Grants
Finding a grant from the government is an unlikely way to get your tubes untied for free. Federal and state agencies do not give money to people for surgery.
The IRS helps make the procedure cheaper in other ways. Around 60% of couples pay federal taxes. For them, the IRS supports at least three methods to lower the cost of tubal reanastomosis.
Flexible Spending
A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is one way the IRS helps pay for tubal reversal. It offers interest-free financing even for those with poor credit histories. It can significantly lower the total costs.
FSAs that finance tubal reversal follow these steps: Both spouses sign up for the yearly maximum amount during open enrollment season, usually in November. Then, schedule the surgery for early January. The employer must pay providers right away. You have up to a year to repay the amount through payroll deductions.
There are three enormous benefits to using an FSA.
- Interest-free: your employer cannot charge interest or origination fees
- Bad credit: your employer must accept all employees willing to participate and cannot check your consumer report or score.
- Reduces costs: repay the loan using pretax payroll deductions, reducing your exposure to up to three taxes.
- Federal brackets: 10% to 37%
- FICA: up to 7.65%
- State brackets vary based on where you work
- California: 1% to 12.3%
- Texas: 0%
- Florida: 0%
- New York: 4% to 8.82%
- Pennsylvania: 3.07%
- Illinois: 4.95%
- Ohio: 0% to 4.8%
- Georgia: 1% to 5.75%
- North Carolina: 5.25%
- Michigan: 4.25%
Health Savings
A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a second way the IRS helps pay for tubal reversal. It offers the most significant savings because you can use pretax money to cover the entire cost.
Most health insurance does not pay for tubal reversal. However, an HSA connected to a High-Deductible Health Plan will pay all qualified costs, even if you max out the yearly contribution limits.
| FSA Yearly Limit | HSA Yearly Limit | |
|---|---|---|
| Self-only | $3,050 | $4,150 |
| Family | $6,100 | $8,300 |
An HSA is a tax-free medical savings account for people with a High-Deductible Health Plan. If you hit the yearly limit, you can pay yourself back in the future as long as you keep that health plan.
For example, a California couple making $100,000 could lower their net costs for tubal reversal by 39% using an HSA, which may include some or all of the following gross charges.
- Outpatient surgical fee: $7,500
- Optional screening laparoscopy: $2,500
- Ultrasound of uterus and ovaries: $300
- Recommended semen analysis: $100
- Ovarian reserve testing: $300
- Travel and lodging expenses: $500
| Tax Rate | Savings on $11,200 | |
| Federal | 22.00% | $2,464 |
| FICA | 7.65% | $857 |
| State | 9.30% | $1,042 |
| Total | 38.95% | $4,363 |
Tax Deductions
Medical tax deductions are a third way the IRS can help pay for tubal reversal. But it offers the slightest help because you must meet two financial thresholds first.
For example, a California couple making $100,000 would see no savings until costs exceeded these amounts:
- Their itemized deductions must be more than the standard deduction amount.
- Married filing jointly: $27,700
- Single filers: $13,850
- Only unreimbursed medical costs above 7.5% of their income ($7,500) are deductible.
If their costs were $11,200, only $3,700 would count. At a 22% tax rate, their federal tax savings would be $814.”
Low-Income Tubal Reversal
Low-income women will have a hard time getting their tubes untied for free. A few lucky couples (under 1%) might find ways to lower costs to zero.
Some possibilities include winning a contest, being chosen for a medical study, or finding a charity with extra funds available. However, most couples will still face significant expenses.
Crowd Funding
Crowdfunding is a good option for low-income couples to get help with tubal reversal costs. Rather than relying on strangers, you can ask friends, coworkers, and family for donations.
Websites like Gift of Parenthood make crowdfunding easy. Then, people can donate to support your surgery. To start, complete your profile and share your pictures and story.
These crowdfunding sites let you contact your network for financial help, putting you in control of the process.
Publicity Contests
Low-income women could enter contests run by local fertility clinics. Sometimes, clinics do free surgeries one day each year for contest winners to help with publicity.
But do not rely on winning, as the chances are meager. Demand for free surgery is much higher than what clinics can provide. For example, one clinic does just three free procedures each year. They pick the winners from over 2,500 applicants. So, the odds of winning are only a little over 0.1%.
Do not count on being one of the very few contest winners. The poor chances mean it is not a reliable way to get free surgery.
Charitable Organizations
Low-income couples could search for charitable organizations that may help cover tubal reversal costs. However, most charities rely on donations, limiting how many they can assist.
Over the years, many fertility charities have come and gone as funding dried up. For example:
- Pay It Forward Fertility Foundation used to fund two surgeries per year. Still, their site is just for product reviews and affiliate links now.
- Past charities like Fit to be Untied, Vision of Faith, and Blessed Arrows no longer have functioning websites.
Unfortunately, we could not find any current charities that provide financial support for tubal reversal. If you discover an active one, please share details so we can update this article to help other couples potentially.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials could potentially provide free surgery for a few low-income women. Participants sometimes receive no-cost care in return for helping with new medical research.
Start your search on the government clinical trials website. Search for terms related to your condition and symptoms. Trials in other countries may appear.
However, you’ll unlikely qualify as most studies focus on medical issues, not reversing prior sterilization. Demand is high, and eligibility criteria are narrow.
While clinical trials offer an outside chance, don’t count on this path. The odds of being accepted are low since sterilization reversal is generally not the focus of research. Other options may have a better potential for financial assistance.
Successful Pregnancy Self-Assistance
All women can potentially lower the costs of untying their fallopian tubes by taking steps to make future pregnancy and newborn care more affordable. Three insurance programs may help with related expenses if enrolled before surgery:
- Short-term disability to replace income during maternity leave
- Hospital indemnity pays benefits when you deliver your baby
- High-deductible health insurance supports HSA tax savings
By looking into your insurance options now, you may save substantially on expenses needed to achieve your goal of having a child after tubal reanastomosis.
Disability Insurance
Purchasing short-term disability insurance before tubal reversal surgery may help improve overall affordability. While it won’t cover your recovery from the procedure, it could replace a portion of lost wages if you become pregnant and need to miss work later for:
- Pregnancy disability before birth
- Recovery after labor and delivery
- Complications during the postpartum period
You must obtain short-term disability coverage before conception to qualify for these potential benefits. Since pregnancy is possible shortly after reversal, consider it an educated investment. Consult your surgeon about typical success rates based on your sterilization history to help inform your decision.
- Clips (Hulka or Filshie)
- Rings (Falope, Yoon, or Lay Loop)
- Ligation or resection
- Coagulation (Bipolar or Monopolar)
- Essure coils
Proper timing is essential to take advantage of short-term disability income replacement if needed during future maternity leave. Discussing your likelihood of pregnancy with your doctor can help weigh this option.
Hospital Indemnity
Purchasing hospital indemnity insurance before tubal reversal may help improve overall affordability if you later become pregnant and deliver. While it won’t cover the reversal procedure itself, it could pay benefits for:
- Your hospital confinement for labor and delivery
- Your newborn’s hospital stay, such as in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
You need the policy before the reversal surgery since pregnancy is possible soon after. You cannot obtain coverage once pregnant and may miss benefits by waiting.
The premiums for hospital indemnity are low compared to potential claims payouts. This ratio makes investigating it now a worthwhile option. Consider it an educated investment, as pregnancy success rates following reversal are often high.
Consult your surgeon about your likelihood of achieving pregnancy to help inform your decision about signing up now. Proper timing allows you to qualify for supplemental benefits.
Health Insurance
Consider changing your health insurance before tubal reversal surgery to potentially reduce costs associated with achieving pregnancy. A new policy won’t cover the procedure itself but may lower future expenses in other ways.
A High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) combined with a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) is ideal. The HDHP has lower monthly premiums. Paired with a Health Savings Account (HSA), it offers tax savings for surgery costs.
The PPO limits your out-of-pocket expenses if pregnancy occurs. It provides in-network coverage for providers important to prenatal and newborn care, such as:
- Obstetricians
- Gynecologists
- Hospitals
- Pediatricians
By exploring options now, you can enroll in a policy well-suited for both the reversal surgery and future pregnancy-related treatment needs. This research may help reduce your total costs.
