Cost and Financing for Intended Parents

How much does surrogacy cost?

The average cost of a surrogacy pregnancy in the U.S. can range anywhere from $125,000 and upwards, depending whether the parents already have created embryos. For all intended parents wondering how expensive gestational surrogacy is, it’s important to keep in mind that the cost of gestational surrogacy depends on many factors, including creating the embryos (medical IVF expenses, donor fees and expenses, if applicable, professional fees, and pharmaceutical expenses), surrogacy journey costs (surrogacy program costs, gestational surrogate fees, lawyer and other and professional’s fees, IVF medical fees to screen the gestational surrogate, cycle and then transfer the embryo to the gestational surrogate, out-of-pocket medical expenses, insurance expenses, and newborn costs.

Creating an embryo can add $30,000-$50,000 overall and using an egg donor will add another $20,000-30,000. While some intended parents’ insurance may cover IVF fees, most will not, particularly fees and costs related to the surrogate. There is no doubt that a surrogacy journey is expensive, therefore, and a gestational surrogate expects to receive her base amount and not go “into the hole” for any of her expenses. Our current surrogate base compensation rates can be found here. These amounts can be adjusted upward for experience or for carrying twins, and downward for lack of surrogacy-friendly insurance.

How much does a surrogacy procedure cost?

While it can be hard to estimate total expenses, in order to make a gestational surrogate match that is respectful of your budget, we will ask you the following questions in your New Client Questionnaire. (Note that your answers remain strictly confidential. While some agencies share your answers with your GC candidate, we will never share your completed questionnaire with your GC.)

Do you want to wait for us to find a GC candidate who has health insurance that is surrogacy-friendly or are you willing to purchase a policy that covers surrogacy? (Note that if your GC has unusable insurance, we will reduce the GC’s base compensation by $5,000 to assist you in purchasing a policy. Also, even if a GC candidate’s policy is surrogacy-friendly today, there is no guarantee that it will stay that way. For example, all policies are reviewed at the end of every year; sometimes, we learn that an employer has switched carriers and the new policy is no longer surrogacy-friendly. Also, note that some policies have large annual deductibles, so if the pregnancy spans two calendar years, it can get pricey for you. Some of the policies you can purchase have no deductibles and no co-pays, so the out-of-pocket difference is not quite as large as they first appear.)

Are you open to all GC candidates or should we be looking only for GC candidates who are stay-at-home moms, who have modest incomes, or who have short-term disability policies? We do not want you to lie awake for 9 months worrying what will happen if a doctor puts her on bed rest. If she is put on doctor-ordered-best rest, you want her to stay in bed – and you are responsible for lost wages.

If you are an international client, we need to think in advance about how your newborn will be covered. So, we will ask: Do you have a private insurance policy, or an insurance policy through your company, that covers you while you are traveling in the US? This is the easiest way to expand to a policy that will also cover your newborn.

Are you at the top of your budget? If yes, we will be careful in matching you so that we select a GC candidate who has minimal travel costs to the IVF clinic, who has health insurance, and whose lost wages are minimal. This can add to your wait for a match, but it is important toward reducing your stress. Also, if you are budget conscious, then going for twins is actually not the best way to save money, because the risk of complications (which adds to your cost) increases — both during the pregnancy and upon delivery, which could be pre-term.

Financial assistance

Many intended parents are relieved that there are several options available to them to create a more affordable surrogacy.

Although there are no tax credits for becoming parents through surrogacy, there are many other ways to receive financial help.