Hourly Jobs With Fertility Benefits Offer Some Workers a Path to Parenthood

livemint.com:

unemployment rate dipped to a low 3.5% in July, and wages increased more quickly for rank-and-file workers than employees overall, rising 4.8% and 4.4% respectively from a year earlier. Working for insurance instead of a paycheck The out-of-pocket cost for one round of IVF runs to an estimated $15,000 to $30,000. Some workers toil for just the fertility benefits, with no additional pay.

Jessica Porta said she rises before dawn to serve coffee three to four days a week at her local Starbucks in Billings, Mont., and hasn’t taken home a paycheck in over a year. After suffering two miscarriages, the 31-year old was diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve, and health insurance through her husband’s job didn’t cover fertility treatments such as IVF. But Starbucks provides workers up to $40,000 in fertility benefits, as well as health insurance, after five months on the job, working 20 hours a week.

Porta said she took the Starbucks job because she “saw it as an opportunity to get [IVF] done fast. Saving $25,000 to $30,000 would have taken much longer than five months." All of her pay—at $15.45 an hour—goes to covering the cost of her insurance. After two rounds of IVF, Porta, who is pregnant and due in November, says she doesn’t mind working for just the insurance.