Financing Surrogacy: Everything You Need to Know About Financial Options for Intended Parents

A surrogacy journey is, no doubt, an expensive undertaking.  It’s our professional view, based on almost 30 years of experience, that creating a complete financial plan – one that represents a full assessment of the true costs of a surrogacy journey that considers potential setbacks along the way – is the essential starting point. 

With that starting point in hand, we are delighted to share our experience and tips to help our Intended Parents plan for these expenses, beyond the traditional options of leveraging your assets to either fund the journey or serve as a basis of borrowing. Of course, it’s always best to confer with a third-party professional financial planner to get the best, personalized advice for your circumstances. We do not, and are not, recommending or endorsing any of these particular financial options.

Employer Family-building Benefits

Your employer may have financial support for your family-building journey. Here are resources you may have, or may request, from your employer to support your surrogacy journey.

Does your Employer have Family-building Benefits for IVF and Third-party Reproduction? 

Check with your human resources about benefits for fertility and third-party reproduction such as gamete donation and surrogacy, often referred to as “fringe” benefits. Such benefits are often a flat fee reimbursement up to a maximum amount, which may be a lifetime maximum or yearly allowance per employer. Family-building benefits may be offered directly by your company, or through a third-party benefits provider, such as Carrot , Maven, Progyny, and WIN Fertility.

🔲 Yes! If your employer currently offers family-building benefits, it is important to inquire about the following information:

• Is this an annual benefit or a lifetime amount?

• How and when do I submit for reimbursement? 

• What type of expenses qualify for family-building benefits?

• What documentation is needed to access the benefits?  Often reimbursement requires proof that your payment and non-refundable and “incurred” (i.e., services have been performed).

🔲 No. If your employer does not currently have family-building benefits, inquire about the following options:

• Are adoption benefits offered? Can these benefits be used for surrogacy?

• Provide resources to advocate that your employer add family-building benefits for employees.

  • Getting Insurance Coverage at Work

  • How to Ask your Employer for Fertility Benefits

  • Fertility Matters at Work

Reach out to ConceiveAbilities about support to seek reimbursement through your employer sponsored family-building benefits. 

We are happy to work with you and provide an Agency Letter confirming the eligible expenses paid, an escrow receipt of payment, and other redacted documentation for you to seek reimbursement. As a reminder, information about your surrogacy journey with your surrogate’s private information is confidential and should not be shared with your employer without prior written confirmation from ConceiveAbilities.

Employer Legal Benefits

Your employer may have coverage for legal services as a benefit that is separate from family-building benefits. These legal services may be able to cover an attorney for your Estate Planning Documents, such as your Will and Guardianship designation. This benefit may apply to legal reimbursement paid to an attorney for legal services and it might require you to use particular attorneys for coverage. Examples of legal service benefits include offerings through Employee Assistance Programs and, more specifically, the MetLife Legal Plan.

Health Insurance Coverage

Your health insurance plan may cover certain fertility services for the participants covered on the plan, such as egg retrieval, sperm retrieval, embryo creation, embryo testing, and/or gamete storage. Of note, your own health insurance plan does not cover non-participants on the plan, such as an egg donor or a surrogate. Here are considerations in understanding whether your health insurance can cover financial expenses in your surrogacy journey. 

• Check if your state requires insurance coverage for fertility preservation and/or IVF, and if you qualify for such coverage, based on the state’s definition of infertility. Check your state’s requirements for coverage here.  

• Review your health insurance policy packet in its entirety for potential coverage and exclusions. This is typically a lengthy PDF document and can typically be found online or by calling your carrier.

• Consider purchasing a secondary, or alternative, health insurance plan that may offer fertility services. You can explore your options through your employer, through an open enrollment period in the individual marketplace, or through your spouse or partner’s health plan. If you investigate the individual marketplace, consider both “on-exchange” and “off-exchange.”

• Making payments for fertility services through your HSA or FSA may be an option.

Fertility Financing

Financing through the Fertility Center

Your fertility center may be a participant in financing programs for third-party reproduction services. Here are examples of potential financing options to pay your expenses to your fertility center:

• Bundl

• Future Family

• PatientFi

• CapeX MD

• Gaia Family

Fertility Center Specific Financing Options for Intended Parents

Your fertility center may have its own financing options for third-party reproduction services. Here are examples of potential financing options for your expenses to your fertility center:

• CCRM – Assure IVF Refund Program

• RMA

• Shady Grove

• CNY 

Direct Fertility Financing Options for Intended Parents

Here are examples of potential financing options that may be directly available to you:

• Fertility Access Program

• Future Family

• Lending Club

• Sunfish

• Prosper HealthCare Lending: Fertility and Reproductive Financing Program

• Morgan Rx Loans

Fertility Grants

Consider applying for a grant from a financial assistance program that supports individuals and couples gain access to fertility treatments. Some programs focus on cancer survivors, military veterans, gay dads, or other specific groups. Here are some examples:

• Baby Quest Foundation

• Cade Foundation

• Chicago Coalition of Family Building

• Give of Parenthood

• Hope for Fertility Foundation

• Hope Grant Program

• Hopeful Mama Grant

• LiveStrong Fertility

• Men Having Babies

• Nest Egg Foundation

• Starfish Infertility Foundation

• The Samfund

• The Surrogacy Foundation