Employer-based insurance coverage increases utilization of planned oocyte cryopreservation.

PURPOSE: To determine the utilization of planned oocyte cryopreservation (OC) in the year immediately prior to, and the year of, insurance coverage commencement for employees at our institution. METHODS: Patient demographics and cycle outcomes were retrospectively compared between the first OC cycles occurring in 2017 vs. 2018 according to insurance coverage and type, age, and the number of oocytes retrieved and cryopreserved. Continuous demographic variables including age, BMI, day 3 FSH and E2, AMH, gravidity, and parity were compared using student T-tests. Cycle outcomes, including the number of oocytes retrieved and cryopreserved were compared using linear regression models, adjusting for potential confounders including age, BMI, and ovarian reserve parameters. RESULTS: Between January 2017 and December 2018, 123 patients underwent planned OC at our institution. Patient age ranged from 23 to 44 years and did not significantly differ from 2017 to 2018 (mean 34.9 vs. 35.2). There was a 12% increase in planned OC utilization from 2017 (N = 58) to 2018 (N = 65). Significantly, more patients had any insurance coverage in 2018 vs. 2017 (71.9% vs. 40.4%, p = 0.001), a 78% increase. From 2017 to 2018, the number of patients with hospital-based insurance coverage undergoing planned OC increased by a factor of 8 (5 to 41.5%, p < 0.001), while the number of self-pay patients significantly decreased (p = 0.001). No differences were found regarding cycle outcomes. CONCLUSION: A greater proportion of women at our institution had insurance coverage for planned OC in 2018 vs. 2017. Employer-based insurance coverage for planned OC was associated with a significant increase in utilization by hospital employees.

The ingenious Mr Hughes: Combining forced, flat, and reverse perspective all in one art piece to pit objects against surfaces.

The artist Patrick Hughes has ingeniously painted rows of stacked Brillo boxes in Forced into Reverse Perspective. The geometry is in reverse perspective, predicting only one type of illusory motion for each planar surface for moving viewers. He "broke" these surfaces into objects by painting the boxes in three types of perspective (planar, forced, and reverse). Our experiments confirmed that he succeeded in eliciting different types of illusory motion, including "differential motion" between boxes for most viewers. In some sense, this illustrates the superiority of secondary (painted) over primary (physical) cues.