The procedure allows women to extend their childbearing years. But it can get pricey.
Egg freezing is becoming an increasingly popular and visible choice among women. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently joined the ranks of public figures who have shared their experience, detailing on social media her own decision-making and the realities of undergoing the process.
The procedure, in which eggs are harvested from the ovaries and then frozen for storage, can offer women an option if they are not yet ready to conceive or have health concerns and anticipated treatments that could later impact fertility. For many people, however, the cost of egg freezing is a major obstacle.
A single cycle of egg freezing “nationally averages around $16,000,” said The Sacramento Bee, citing FertilityIQ’s patient-reported data. This “includes roughly $11,000 for the clinic procedure and about $5,000 for fertility medications.” In addition, “egg storage is typically billed separately and can cost up to about $1,000 a year, depending on the facility,” said CNN Health.
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Of course, there are a number of variables that influence how closely the actual cost aligns with these averages. One is location: “Clinics in mid-size cities may charge around $10,000 per cycle, while coastal metros like New York or San Francisco can exceed $18,000 for the procedure alone,” said The Sacramento Bee.
Also, “many women need to undergo multiple cycles to get their desired egg count,” said Dr. Marcelle Cedars, a professor and director at the University of California, San Francisco’s Center for Reproductive Health, to CNBC. That multiplies the initial estimate. Finally, when women are ready to use their eggs, they have the cost of IVF to navigate, which “averages roughly $23,000 per cycle,” said The Sacramento Bee.
Despite the price tag, there is no guarantee that egg freezing will lead to a successful pregnancy. Freezing embryos can yield a higher success rate, which is why some women opt to freeze both their eggs and their embryos. Of course, this further compounds costs.
Since the process of embryo freezing also includes sperm banking and fertilization, it generally has a higher starting cost, averaging around “$10,000-$20,000 per cycle,” said the North Carolina Center for Reproductive Medicine. Storage is also necessary; this can run up to $1,000 a year.
While “some high-profile tech companies, including Meta and Apple, have advertised egg freezing as an employee perk,” the reality is that “most insurance does not cover the cost unless there is a medical reason, such as ahead of cancer treatments that will damage or destroy a woman’s eggs,” said CNN Health. In fact, said The Sacramento Bee, “only about 20% of large U.S. companies include egg freezing in their benefits.” Still, the first step when assessing costs for the procedure is to check with your health insurance plan to see what costs it may help cover, if any.
A total of “21 states have fertility preservation mandates, which means they may cover some aspects of medically necessary egg freezing (and/or sperm freezing) for qualified patients,” said CCRM Fertility. The fertility clinic itself may be willing to offer discounts or payment plans, and there are various organizations that offer financial assistance and even grants or scholarships. You might also consider using your Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) funds toward qualified expenses.
Becca Stanek has worked as an editor and writer in the personal finance space since 2017. She previously served as a deputy editor and later a managing editor overseeing investing and savings content at LendingTree and as an editor at the financial startup SmartAsset, where she focused on retirement- and financial-adviser-related content. Before that, Becca was a staff writer at The Week, primarily contributing to Speed Reads.
