Independently owned fertility center reports more than 7,300 IVF cycles in 2022
BY: RON SHINKMAN
Robert Kiltz, M.D., is a Los Angeles native who mostly studied and trained within California. Buffeted by the civil unrest and major earthquake that struck the city in the first half of the 1990s, he decided to move his family to the Finger Lakes region of New York. combined, the population of the region’s biggest cities, Rochester and Syracuse, have less than one-tenth the population of L.A. However, the region was still welcoming enough newborns to support Kiltz’s obstetrics practice.
Back in the mid-1990s, Kiltz received about $2,000 for a delivery. “When I started (offering) IVF, that sounded like a reasonable price,” he said. “I don’t have to deliver a baby at two in the morning and it’s a lot less work.”
Since CNY Fertility’s founding in 1997, Kiltz’s original single-site practice has steadily grown. It now operates nine clinics in upstate New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Florida. That includes clinics that opened in Colorado Springs last year and Sarasota, Fla. this year. Companywide, CNY Fertility employs nearly 500 workers. That includes 15 physicians and osteopaths and 33 practitioners in total. Eight of the doctors are board certified in reproductive endocrinology and fertility (REI), with a ninth currently obtaining their certification, according to Kiltz.
CNY Fertility’s IVF cycle numbers have grown rapidly in recent years. It performed more than 7,300 cycles last year, triple the 2,429 performed in 2017. Just a decade ago in 2013, it performed fewer than 1,800.
Kiltz is the sole owner of CNY Fertility, and he has financed its expansion primarily through loans, he said. The company has accepted no venture capital or private equity investments.
Despite possessing the singular ambition to steadily grow CNY Fertility over the years into a national player, Kiltz said he didn’t do it to become rich.
“I went into medicine to help people and to make a reasonable living doing it. But I never did it for the money,” he said.
Low Price Points, Direct-to-patient Marketing
One of the keys to CNY’s growth has been its low price point, which it has maintained over the decades and is prominently advertised on the homepage of its website. That $2,000 IVF cycle in 1997 is now $4,275, or $4,720 including remote monitoring. Add a frozen transfer, remote monitoring, and a one-year embryo storage and the cost is just over $10,000. By comparison, the National Conference of State Legislatures estimates that the average IVF cycle costs between $12,000 and $17,000, not including medication. CNY Fertility also promotes travel programs where patients can undergo bloodwork and cycle monitoring by a local doctor before traveling to one of its clinics for a procedure.
Kiltz said that prices are kept low through aggressive negotiations with all its suppliers, including medications. About 60% of CNY Fertility’s patients pay cash, with the rest paying through insurance, in line with recent data about payer mix in the reproductive medicine space.
Aside from aggressive pricing, CNY Fertility is also quite active on social media. Kiltz’s nephew, William Kiltz, directs its marketing and business development full-time.
CNY Fertility’s TikTok page, for example, has 55,000 followers. A few individual fertility doctors have similar or higher numbers, but the handful of fertility clinics using TikTok do not come close to that, based on searches on the TikTok application. CNY Fertility’s feed includes dozens of videos on subjects ranging from the egg retrieval process, TSH levels and employee and patient testimonials. Most are produced and edited and often include multiple camera angles and graphical overlays.
Kiltz, sporting a short black t-shirt, jeans and a thick silver chain, narrated one video on immunologic issues and IVF that has drawn thousands of views.
CNY has also trademarked various slogans for marketing purposes, including “Making Priceless Affordable.” Another slogan, “Miracles by CNY” was used to brand clinic merchandise, including a baby bag that made the “Today Show’s” list of top baby bags in 2021.
Meanwhile, Kiltz is focused on continuing to grow CNY Fertility. He plans to add about 50 employees over the next year, including three to five new physicians and practitioners for the New York, Colorado and Florida sites. Plans are also on the drawing board to expand into Orlando, Fla., Texas and Kiltz’s old stomping grounds of Southern California. And Kiltz suggested his expansion strategy may soon no longer be a solo venture.
“If we’re going to open up three to five new centers in the next couple of years, then we’re certainly up to other joint partners to help CNY Fertility grow,” he said.
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