Although most health insurance policies do not cover egg freezing, some do if it is done for medical reasons. The federal Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act filed a bill in May 2018 to require fertility preservation insurance coverage. The bill aims to help people who are undergoing fertility preservation operations like egg freezing as a result of medically essential procedures like cancer treatment.
Moreover, some aspects of the procedure, like as a physician consultation, ultrasounds, bloodwork, and ovarian reserve tests, may be reimbursed by a variety of insurance providers.
In the United States, only 16 states compel insurance companies to cover infertility diagnosis and treatment. You might be surprised to learn that leading corporations like Google, Facebook, and Apple provide egg freezing to their employees as a workplace benefit.
It is recommended that you study your insurance policy or contact your insurance carrier to have the coverage explained to you.
Is Egg Freezing Worth the Cost?
According to a Yale Medicine study, egg freezing only increases your chances of having a baby by 3-5 percent. Doctors, on the other hand, frequently collect numerous eggs, increasing the chances of a late pregnancy.
Women who are thinking of freezing their eggs should take their time. Choose this surgery after a long discussion with your doctor and without any pressure.
You should also think about your reproductive goals, your health, and the total expenditures. The woman’s age and overall health play a role in her success. The older you get, the less likely you are to become pregnant with a frozen egg.
Alternatives to Pay for Egg Freezing
Is egg freezing covered by your insurance? If that isn’t the case, don’t give up! Other funding alternatives are available to you.
Consult your financial counselor to see if there are any other options. Many fertility clinics also offer egg freezing as a payment alternative. You can also use crowdsourcing and borrow from a friend or family member.
To summarize, egg freezing is a viable option if your health objectives and money allow it.
Which insurance company covers egg freezing?
Blue Cross and Red Crescent Societies Blue Shield is one of the major insurance companies in the United States, and their customers are currently covered for egg freezing.
What if I can’t afford to freeze my eggs?
If saving or borrowing money to pay for egg freezing isn’t an option, you may be eligible for assistance. Non-profit organizations provide financial support for fertility treatments such as egg freezing. Many of these are aimed at cancer patients who opt to freeze their eggs before undergoing chemotherapy. However, a handful are devoted to assisting low-income women in obtaining egg preservation therapies. Look through the lists from RESOLVE and Fertility Within Reach to get started.
How much does it cost for egg freezing?
The expense of freezing eggs is high: Experts estimate that a single cycle can cost anywhere from $6,000 to $20,000. This does not include the annual storage fees of $500 to $600. Even at such a hefty expense, however, there is no assurance of success: The success rate of egg freezing remains low.
Is IVF covered by insurance?
Most health plans consider maternity and newborn care to be essential benefits, while infertility treatment is frequently not. Some insurance policies cover in vitro fertilization (IVF), but not the injections that women may also need. Other plans provide coverage for both. Some plans only cover a limited number of treatments. Furthermore, some insurance plans do not cover IVF at all.
Is it worth freezing eggs at 39?
According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), freezing your eggs is best done in your 20s and early 30s, when your ovarian reserve (the quantity of eggs in your ovaries) is higher and your eggs are healthier. Having your fertility hormones analyzed (for example, with Modern Fertility!) can reveal a lot about the condition of your ovarian reserve and help you determine if egg freezing is right for you, with the support of your doctor. However, egg freezing is not advised for persons over the age of 38.
How can I get insurance to cover IVF?
If your organization doesn’t already provide them, this may appear to be a risky step. Some employers, on the other hand, follow the advise of their insurance brokers and are unaware that they can ask brokers to include coverage for reproductive therapy. They might request that their broker:
- Employees can choose between two health plans. One provides IVF benefits, while the other does not.
- The more employees that contact their Human Resource Departments, the better companies will understand that the scope of coverage supplied should not be limited.
- Employers want to stay competitive, so they want to know which businesses provide coverage and what types of benefits they provide.
- Employers are either self-insured (benefits are managed by insurance companies, but the employer pays the claims) or fully insured (benefits are managed by insurance companies, but the employer pays the claims) (insurance companies manage benefits and pay the claims). When self-insured businesses learn about the cost reductions associated with providing benefits, they are driven to give IVF coverage.
Patients tend to transfer fewer embryos in an IVF round when the infertility benefits are plausible. A singleton pregnancy (from conception to birth) is predicted to cost $21,458, while twins cost $104,831 and triplets cost $407,199. In addition, there are cost reductions in mental health benefits. When companies learn that this could affect one out of every six employees, they take it more seriously.
Is freezing your eggs painful?
All patients will be sedated for around 20 minutes, resulting in a painless procedure. Patients may feel sore, achy, and cramping when they first wake up. Most people recover in a few days, while some may take up to a week.
Can I freeze my eggs at 40?
Dr. Hill is Associate Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Maryland, and REI Assistant Division Director, OBGYN Residency Assistant Program Director, Walter Reed & NIH REI Fellowship. In relation to the content of this essay, he has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Dr. Levens is the Director of Research at Rockville, Maryland’s Shady Grove Fertility Science Center. In relation to the content of this essay, he has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
The writers’ opinions are their own, and they do not reflect the official policy or viewpoint of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the United States Government.
For women who have lost their fertility due to cancer or other medical issues, egg freezing is a popular and effective treatment. Elective egg freezing to postpone childbearing due to “social indicators” is also on the rise. It’s debatable if there should be an age limit for egg freezing.
The first question is if a sufficient quantity of eggs from patients beyond the age of 40 can be produced to justify egg freezing. Patients aged 4144 generate 69 eggs suitable for freezing per stimulation cycle on average, and two cycles are required to bank 16 eggs. 1 Patients aged 3740, on the other hand, generate on average 810 eggs suitable for freezing per cycle and require two cycles to bank 16 eggs. 1 As a result, there is no discernible decline in egg output at the age of 40 to make this age a discriminator.
It is not uncommon for us to offer fertility treatment to women who have a success rate of less than 10% at our clinic. Women over the age of 40 who want to freeze their eggs appear to have a prognosis that is equal to or better than this value and should not be precluded from treatment. Women over 40 who freeze their eggs have a 2 percent3 percent decreased chance of having a live baby than women aged 3740. As a result, an age cutoff of 40 does not appear to be justified in terms of outcomes.
Recent studies have shown that elective egg freezing before the age of 3436 maximizes live birth and is most cost effective before the age of 3738.
1-3 Patients should be informed that elective age freezing is best done at these younger ages. Older patients, on the other hand, have a good likelihood of having a live birth. Egg freezing should not be ruled out for a patient over the age of 40 who has been properly advised and understands the costs and realistic odds of success.
2. Cil PA, Bang H, Oktay K. Individual patient data meta-analysis of the age-specific likelihood of live birth with oocyte cryopreservation. 2013;100:492499. Fertil Steril. 2013;100:492499.
Mesen, T.B., Mersereau, J.E., Kane, J.B., and Steiner, A.Z. When is the best time to freeze your eggs? Fertil Steril 103:15511556 (2015).
Yes. The likelihood of success is too low and cost too high
Dr. Rhoton-Vlasak is an Associate Professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine’s Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Gainesville. In relation to the content of this essay, she has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
I believe that elective oocyte cryopreservation should be limited to people above the age of 40. Oocyte cryopreservation was initially approved as non-experimental by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in 2013. 1 Egg freezing is optimal for women in their 20s and 30s, and it is not suggested for women above the age of 38. 2 Preserving fertility in patients receiving gonadotoxic therapies for cancer or other diseases, in certain genetic conditions, in situations where there is a failure to obtain sperm for IVF, for couples who cannot or do not want to cryopreserve excess embryos that are not transferred in a fresh cycle, and for elective oocyte cryopreservation to defer or protect child-bearing potential (ie, for “social indications”) were among the proposed applications of this technology.
Oocyte cryopreservation to increase future reproductive possibilities should be provided for nonmedical reasons, according to recent European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology committee remarks.
3 As more women wish to postpone parenting in order to pursue their educational, career, and other aspirations, “social” egg freezing has become more accessible. Apple and Facebook, two of the country’s greatest technology companies, have established a $20,000 employee bonus to cover oocyte cryopreservation. 4 Single women or career-oriented women who want to protect their fertility from age-related decline may find oocyte cryopreservation to be a viable option. However, this cutting-edge technology will not protect against the natural drop in fertility that comes with age.
Allowing women beyond the age of 40 to have their oocytes cryopreserved has emotional, economical, and cultural ramifications. In general, women will require greater doses of fertility medications for optimal stimulation, resulting in increased egg cryopreservation cycle expenses. Given the far reduced success rates, this will offer little hope or value. According to data from the 2013 Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology in the United States, the percentage of cycles ending in live births for fresh embryos from non-donor oocytes drops from 21% at ages 3840 to 11% at ages 4142, and then drops to 4.5 percent after age 42. Despite an increase in the number of embryos transplanted per transfer at the age of 40, this decrease persists. 6 Instead of “how can I develop my practice this quarter,” healthcare policy should be founded on the Hippocratic principle of “primum non nocere.”
Elective egg freezing should be available to women of all ages, but I recommend a 40-year-old restriction due to poor pregnancy rates, higher costs, similar surgical risk, and a desire to avoid giving patients false optimism. Every procedure in medicine has its limitations and contraindications, and we certainly need to set an age restriction for oocyte cryopreservation. It makes sense to have some guidelines in place when patients seek our help. “Primum non nocere” takes over as our best guiding principle as the risk:benefit ratio approaches zero.
1. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology’s Practice Committees. A guide on cryopreservation of mature oocytes. Fertil Steril, vol. 99, no. 3, pp. 3743, 2013.
3. ESHRE Task Force on Ethics and Law, Dondorp W, de Wert G, Pennings G, et al. Cryopreservation of oocytes for age-related infertility. 12311237 in Hum Reprod. 2012;27:12311237.
Optimal timing for elective egg freezing. Mesen T, Mersereau J, Kane J, Steiner A. Fertil Steril 103:15511556 (2015).
At what age should you freeze your eggs?
Fertility preservation is becoming more popular as more couples try to conceive at a later age. Women are increasingly opting to freeze and keep their eggs because it is well known that when eggs are retrieved from an older woman, the chances of a live birth are considerably reduced.
We’ve answered some of the most common questions we get about preserving eggs for a later pregnancy to help you determine if it’s appropriate for you.
What is the best age to freeze eggs?
Fertility begins to drop at the age of thirty and is drastically reduced by the age of forty.
As a result, the best time to freeze your eggs is when you’re in your late twenties. However, freezing eggs at a temperature of thirty to thirty-five degrees Fahrenheit is also extremely usual.
Is it possible to freeze my eggs if I’m aged 40 and over?
Yes, however because the quantity of eggs produced by the body is decreasing, the number of eggs that can be harvested and frozen will be limited. Eggs frozen after the age of 35 have a decreased pregnancy rate, hence it is often recommended to freeze eggs much sooner. Using donated eggs from a younger woman is frequently recommended for women over forty who want to delay their fertility.
What is the egg freezing procedure?
1. You must have blood tests for infection (hepatitis, syphilis, and HIV/AIDS) before freezing your eggs.
2. You get injections to help your ovaries produce more eggs.
3. Your eggs are then harvested and frozen during a procedure that requires a general anaesthesia.
4. When you’re ready to start trying for a baby, your eggs are frozen and fertilized by injecting sperm into the egg (ICSI).
What is the egg freezing success rate?
Because this is a new procedure, success percentages are difficult to predict. If the woman’s eggs were harvested before the age of thirty, the chances of success were higher.
How many eggs can be frozen?
The quantity of eggs that can be kept is determined by the woman’s age. 6 out of 8 eggs will survive the freezing and thawing process in general. The chances of a live birth from these 6 eggs range from 32 percent to 18 percent, depending on the woman’s age at the time she freezes her eggs.
As a result, roughly 30-40 eggs must be preserved in order for a woman to have a decent chance of having a live birth. To keep 30-40 eggs, a woman will need to go through at least two to five treatment cycles to guarantee that she has enough mature eggs. The presence of a large number of eggs in storage does not guarantee a live birth.
Does freezing my eggs guarantee a live birth?
No, there are additional things to consider when trying to conceive, such as the number of eggs stored, health, and age.
What is the cost of freezing eggs?
Elective egg freezing is costly because Medicare does not reimburse expenditures in the same manner that Medicare reimburses some IVF cycle costs when a couple is infertile. Because there is no Medicare rebate, the medications required to encourage the development of the eggs are not reimbursed, and private health insurance rebates for admission to the hospital for egg retrieval are not covered.
Elective egg freezing, on the other hand, costs around $10,000 each cycle. In addition, there are annual storage costs of around $400 per year until the eggs are to be used.
If you’ve been together for a long time but aren’t ready to start a family, you can freeze embryos, which have a greater success rate.
Should I freeze my eggs at 25?
“When should I think about freezing eggs?” Between the ages of 25 and 35 is the optimal time to consider egg freezing. Even if you use your eggs when you’re 40, the eggs you freeze when you’re 25 will still be 25 years old.