Egg freezing can be an excellent choice if you want to postpone conception and plan to have children in your 40s or later. However, the procedure’s exorbitant cost may cause you to reconsider. Is egg freezing covered by insurance?
Although most infertility diagnostic and treatment costs are covered by health insurance, procedures such as egg freezing are rarely covered. This is because insurance companies consider egg freezing to be an optional procedure.
Let’s have a look at the price of egg freezing to see if it’s worthwhile.
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.
How much does it cost to freeze your eggs without insurance?
The cost of treatment and storage for egg freezing patients ranges from $30,000 to $40,000. This is determined by two key factors: the cost of each cycle, which ranges from $15,000 to $20,000, and the number of cycles each woman has (on average, 2.1).
The expense of medical treatment, medicine, and the cost of storing your frozen eggs are all essential line items on a per-cycle basis. Each varies depending on the clinic and the patient.
Which states cover egg freezing?
Women frequently question if their insurance will cover the cost of freezing their eggs. The quick answer is that it is debatable. However, before we look into whether egg freezing also known as oocyte cryopreservation is covered by insurance, let’s take a look at why women opt to do it and what it entails.
Why Freeze Your Eggs?
Women today frequently have to choose between pursuing a profession and starting a family. Society has struggled to recognize these two pursuits as mutually beneficial without one “losing out.” More women are deferring having children in order to focus on their professions.
According to a recent study1, more women are freezing their eggs to prevent choosing the incorrect spouse and to give themselves more time to choose wisely. Women felt more secure in their capacity to have children later in life, according to the same study.
Some women decide for egg freezing in their 20s and early 30s to retain the chance of having children later on, when conception may be more difficult. This allows individuals to start a family in their late 30s or even early 40s, albeit there are significant hazards involved.
How Does it Work?
The technology was originally successfully presented in 1986 by Christopher Chen2, an Australian biologist who was the first to accomplish a successful live birth from egg freezing. It was only recently withdrawn off the market “procedure category “experimental” The procedure entails harvesting, freezing, and storing a woman’s eggs until she is ready to conceive.
Of fact, it’s a lot more difficult than that, and there’s no assurance that this will result in a healthy baby. However, as technology advances, the likelihood of success increases, making this a more plausible alternative.
“Unfertilized eggs retrieved from your ovaries are frozen and kept for later use. In vitro fertilization is when a frozen egg is thawed, mixed with sperm in a lab, and put in your uterus.
How Much Does it Cost?
Treatment and storage costs can range from $30,000 to $40,000, according to Fertility IQ4. This includes retrieval, prescription, and storage costs, and it assumes two treatment cycles (the average is 2.1). Women’s prices rise as they get older; (older women will pay more for more cycles and typically harvest few eggs).
The cost of a cycle varies by area, but the national average is roughly $15,991. Many women prefer to have two cycles of eggs harvested and frozen in order to boost their chances of success.
According to Extend Fertility, a clinic dedicated to educating and counseling women about fertility, storing eggs at a younger age can cut the overall cost of a live baby by over $15,000 when compared to typical fertility procedures at an older age.
Does health insurance cover the costs?
In 16 states, insurance companies are required to cover or give coverage for fertility therapy. Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and West Virginia are among the states in question. If you live in one of these states, insurance may be able to assist pay for coverage; however, depending on your plan, you may still be subject to deductibles and out-of-pocket payments.
Even if you don’t live in one of these states, your health insurance may cover some of your medical expenses, such as blood tests or ultrasounds. It’s a good idea to go over the fine print of your health insurance policy so you know exactly what to expect.
Some companies5, including a few in the technology industry, underwrite the costs of reproductive procedures and egg freezing. These perks are provided in order to attract and retain outstanding female talent.
Are there other ways to pay?
Fertility clinics are working hard to drive down costs or assist people discover other ways to pay for services as the practice becomes more popular. However, if insurance does not pay, the most typical payment method is for individuals to pay out of pocket. Financing may also be an option for some.
Next Steps
In the end, more and more women may choose egg freezing as a way to extend their lives and pursue a job while still in their twenties and thirties before starting a family. Instead of listening to their “biological alarm clock,” as the baby-urge is commonly referred to, they will spend more time picking a spouse. With the new finding that storing eggs at a younger age can reduce costs, more women may opt to undergo this process to assure that they have children in the future.
If health insurance isn’t going to cover it, getting a job makes the option of freezing eggs more affordable. It can help those who are in their late 30s or early 40s have a better chance of starting a family. It’s also more appealing to have a prosperous spouse to help pay for the costs of waiting.
Whatever a woman chooses, it’s comforting to know that she has options – that some states, and even some employers, are on her side.
Can I buy insurance to cover IVF?
California, unlike some other states in the US, does not require your health insurer to cover in vitro fertilization. While this is disheartening, there are health insurance plans in California that cover IVF fees on a voluntary basis. Employers who want to provide additional perks to their employees, on the other hand, pay for these advantages. As a result, in California, IVF health insurance is only offered through employer-sponsored health insurance plans and cannot be purchased through individual health insurance.
Individual Health Plan Coverage
So far, we are not aware of any individual health plans available on the ACA marketplace in California that cover in-vitro fertilization. This is unsurprising, given that coverage of in vitro fertilization would raise the cost of health insurance. Advanced fertility services are rarely covered by low-cost health insurance. While only a small percentage of members with fertility issues would be affected, the bulk of other insured members will benefit from cheaper monthly costs. If you live in California, your sole option for obtaining individual coverage for in vitro fertilization is to relocate to a state where fertility services are required to be covered by all insurance policies. Another option is to show that IVF is medically necessary, such as in the case of a severe genetic condition. In most cases, low sperm count or obstructed fallopian tubes will disqualify you from those exclusions. One of our patients, a fragile X carrier, was able to convince the California Department of Insurance that advanced fertility procedures, including implantation genetic diagnosis, were medically necessary, forcing the insurance company to pay for them.
Employer sponsored health coverage
The ideal circumstance is to work for a company that offers these perks. Only affluent California firms, such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Tesla, and Warner Bros., are thought to provide health insurance with IVF coverage in California. Not everyone will be able to find work with those businesses. Corporations like Starbucks, on the other hand, may provide fertility coverage to their employees, and acquiring a job there may be easier than at the other companies mentioned. Benefits may be restricted to a higher-level employee group in some circumstances, but each organization sets its own policies. Prior to starting work, phone the HR department to confirm your position’s health insurance benefits.
Kaiser insurance will be available to a large number of Californians. Kaiser Permanente is used by several companies to provide health insurance to its employees. Unfortunately, Kaiser insurance plans purchased on an individual basis do not include fertility coverage; however, many members with employer-sponsored plans do. We’ve created a particular page to Kaiser Permanente members’ fertility coverage due to the significant number of Kaiser Permanente members in California.
Plan rules for IVF coverage
Even if your health insurance supports in vitro fertilization, there are frequently conditions that must be met before treatment can begin. In most circumstances, you’ll need to go through numerous rounds of intrauterine inseminations before you can use your IVF coverage (typically between 3-6). However, if your sperm quality is low or your fallopian tubes are blocked, you may be able to proceed to in vitro fertilization right away. Some insurance companies will recognize advanced reproductive age as a reason for IVF treatment right away.
Is egg freezing worth it?
To calculate the cost-per-percentage-point, we divided the total expected cost of two rounds of egg freezing plus the requisite years of storage by a woman’s % chance of having a baby in the future.
As shown in the graph below, freezing eggs sooner rather than later increases a woman’s chances of having a child later in life. However, you’ll get the most bang for your buck if you use those eggs to try to conceive after your natural fertility has drastically reduced.
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.
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.
At what age should a woman freeze her eggs?
Egg freezing was no longer considered experimental by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in 2012. They also claimed that egg freezing is a morally acceptable fertility method. Pregnancy rates as well as the health of delivered kids have now been demonstrated to be a safe and feasible alternative as a result of additional scientific developments.
While no fertility preservation approach is guaranteed to work 100 percent of the time, the chances of oocyte cryopreservation working rise with the timing of the treatment. Women should freeze their eggs before the age of 35, or at the very least before the age of 40, due to the natural decline in fertility with age.
Contacting a doctor is the initial step for anyone interested in this surgery. By starting a conversation about fertility options, women can better assess if egg freezing is the best option for them.
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.
How much does it cost for egg retrieval?
Fertility preservation is achieved by freezing eggs. The matured eggs inside your ovaries are extracted, frozen, and preserved until you choose to use them to conceive after taking ovarian stimulating medicine (AKA hormones that cause your ovaries to create multiple eggs). If you wish to use them in the future, the eggs are mixed with sperm in a lab and inserted into your uterus via IVF (more on IVF later). Kaye, who lives in New Jersey, spent $925 on an ultrasound, baseline blood testing, and follow-up with her doctor when she decided to freeze her eggs.
$200: For the ultrasound, which examines your ovaries for any potential problems (such as ovarian cysts) and predicts how many eggs are available and strong enough to be retrieved.
Initial blood work costs $200. Kaye’s progesterone and estrogen levels were examined. Both of these hormones play an important role in the menstrual cycle’s regulation.
Additional blood work costs $325. On the third day of her period, Kaye was requested to come in for a precise measurement of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), which encourages egg development, and luteinizing hormone (LH), which causes ovulation. Her anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels, which define how many eggs are remaining in her ovaries, were also tested (AKA ovarian reserve). Understanding these hormone levels helps to guide treatment and may even aid in the diagnosis of disorders like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).
$250: For her doctor’s follow-up consultation following the ultrasound and testing to discuss how to continue based on her results.
Now that we’re talking cash, it’s vital to remember that this, like the one below, is a case study. We’ll go over how much each of these fees can change.
As you might expect, Kaye’s initial appointments were not her last. A single egg freezing cycle yes, there are often numerous cycles to get a sufficient quantity of eggs lasts about three weeks on average. You must first take hormonal birth control for one to two weeks. The natural hormones in your body will be shut off as a result of this. Then you must inject yourself with synthetic hormones for nine to ten days in order for your ovaries to mature several eggs (rather than just one, which is typical during ovulation). The injections were partially reimbursed by Kaye’s insurance.
Anesthesia is charged when the eggs are extracted or harvested by a doctor. The retrieval is a 20-minute in-office operation (the full process, including anesthesia, can take up to two hours). The cost of retrieval might range from $600 to $1500. Then there’s the issue of keeping the eggs safe. The first year of Kaye’s storage is free, but each subsequent year costs $1200.
Kaye’s first egg freezing cycle cost $8,163. Injections, anesthesia, and retrieval are all included.
The total cost of Kaye’s second egg freezing cycle, including everything mentioned above, is $5,150. This time, she had met her insurance deductible, so the injections were completely covered by her insurance (which she obtained through her employer and which covers egg freezing).
These are significant figures. “I paid for it with the money I got from my divorce,” Kaye explains. “We put half of our joint funds and half of our wedding gifts in this account. I felt bad about hoarding money that people had given us to help us start our lives, so I used it to restart mine.”