Launched in 2005, WellesleyWeston Magazine is a quarterly publication tailored to Wellesley and Weston residents and edited to enrich the experience of living in two of Massachusetts' most desirable communities.
Issue link: https://wellesleywestonmagazine.epubxp.com/i/210435
fitness & health "understand the statistics" simply working harder or accessing the best resources can't "fix." And that's where the language needs to shift from "success" to "fortunate" in terms of fertility treatment, Lasker said, because it's vital not to see oneself as "a failure or somehow less than" because of how one's family is formed. In addition to hosting support groups, conferences, and acting as a clearinghouse for information, RESOLVE New England lobbies at the state and national level for better insurance coverage for the treatment of infertility, as well as advocating for more equitable adoption benefits to be offered by employers. Marymichele Delaney is a RESOLVE New England volunteer who helps people with insurance questions during regularly scheduled phone-in hours. Her day job is Associate Director and Benefits Manager at Wellesley College, so she knows the ins and outs of how insurance companies make their decisions. Dealing with insurance, Delaney said, "is just one more high mountain to climb in this process of trying to create your family." But patients must advocate for their care, Delaney said, and work with their doctors to understand the statistics and outcomes of different types of treatments. "Massachusetts has the best health insurance in the country…[and] New England has the best doctors," she said, but health insurance is a business. Delaney advises people to remain professional when appealing denial of coverage. "Go armed with data points," she said, "not tears." And sometimes the medical reality is just going to be a tough one to accept. Delaney gave birth to a son, now a teenager, after many difficult years of ART treatment. She also has a pre-teen daughter adopted We l l e s l e y We s t o n M a g a z i n e | w i n t e r 2 0 1 3 / 2 0 1 4 from Korea. She advocates for employers to extend benefits to defray the adoption expenses to make that route a more viable alternative for some couples. She said there is a big misconception out there that much of infertility treatment is using up huge amounts of health care dollars. When you look at the actual dollars spent "it's about equivalent to podiatry." 156