Know how much fertility treatments really cost before making a commitment

One of the most common mistakes couples make when starting fertility treatment is their lack of research. Particularly, the information they receive are often one-sided as it is generally sourced from one clinic or fertility specialist.

The cost of fertility treatment is complex and can vary greatly among clinics. Honest Fertility breaks down these costs so you can understand treatment cost in a greater extent and therefore make an informed decision.

Consultations

Clinics commonly invite prospective patients for a personal consultation to discuss causes of infertility and suitable treatments to address these causes.

While the discussion may be insightful in helping patients understand their treatment options, the expensive price of these initial consultations often forces patients to undergo treatment with the same clinic.

This strategy works effectively for clinics but for you, the patient, it prevents you from visualizing the bigger picture.

Cost per consultation ranges from $200 to $500 in the US.

Clinics usually disclose the specific cost of consultation if you reach out to them via phone call.

The initial consultation will cover the following:

  • You and your partner’s health history.
  • Possible cause(s) of infertility and available treatments.
  • Suitable preliminary tests to determine the right treatment option for you.

Preliminary Tests

Your fertility specialist may arrange several preliminary tests for you and/or your partner to determine what treatments are suitable. These tests may include:

  • Blood test.
  • Semen analysis for men.
  • Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) test for women.
  • Diagnostic imaging such as ultrasound and X-ray.

Consultation fees generally do not include the costs of preliminary tests. However, this may vary amongst clinics, so it is recommended that you contact the clinic for more accurate information.

After preliminary tests are performed, your fertility specialist will schedule follow-up consultation sessions to discuss your test results. It is important to know that follow-up consultants often entail additional costs but may be lower than that of the initial consultation.

During these follow-up sessions, your specialist will provide you a detailed list of treatment item number and associated costs.

Medication

Medication is not only required before the initial IVF cycle, but also throughout subsequent cycles including frozen embryo transfers.

The cost of these medications will inevitably accumulate and are unfortunately not included in treatment costs. Typically, these costs can be up to $5,000.

Medication cost varies greatly among clinics as it depends on the pharmacy the clinic is associated with.

Embryo Freezing & Transfer

A single IVF cycle can produce multiple embryos. Whilst the strongest embryo is transferred into the woman’s womb, the rest are usually stored at low temperatures for future use.

Embryo freezing allows subsequent IVF cycles to be conducted without the need for additional egg extraction. This avoids unnecessary surgery costs if the first IVF cycle is unsuccessful.

However, embryo freezing and storage incur additional costs at most clinics, usually around $3000-$4000 per embryo. Further, frozen embryo transfer (FET) using these embryos is often considered a separate treatment to IVF, so it also incurs additional costs.

To find out about the exact costs of embryo freezing and storage, contact your clinic through our website.

Genetic Screening – PGD/PGS

The necessity of genetic screening in fertility treatment is controversial. But, the cost of PGD/PGS is for sure expensive, bringing your out-of-pocket cost up by $5,000. This usually makes up an astonishing 20% of total treatment cost.

Typically, the cost of treatment is divided into two components. The first is for biopsy, often conducted at the clinic. The second is for genetic testing, conducted in a laboratory.

The clinical biopsy is inevitable and can make up to half the cost, giving the clinic a profit of thousands for genetic screening alone.

However, as the patient, you are entitled to choosing your own fertility laboratory. This allows you to have greater control over genetic screening costs as laboratories have different sample testing fees.

IVF & ICSI

A cycle of IVF (excluding medication and other services) costs around $11,000.

ICSI incurs additional costs ranging from $1,000 to $2,000. This means you can expect IVF with ICSI to cost around $13,000.

The cost of IVF and ICSI are often not disclosed separately partly due to clinics offering them as a package to increase success rates.

As mentioned before, patients have the ability to choose their own laboratory. This is essential for IVF/ICSI not only because the decision affects cost, but also you chance of success.

Ultimately, it is the laboratory who is responsible for IVF not the clinic. Higher success rate leads to less cycles and hence lower overall cost.

Research before you purchase ‘IVF Packages’

A patient in the US on average takes more than two cycles to have a baby. This incurs total cost up to $60,000.

As a result, clinics often offer discount packages containing multiple IVF cycles with the intention of providing patients a form of ‘insurance’.

However, many patients who purchase these packages succeed on the first cycle, therefore overpaying for their result. It is also important to note that clinics are likely to assess a patient’s eligibility for these discount bundles based on their age and therefore, chance of success.

That said, Honest Fertility advises patients to perform thorough research in regard to their age-specific prospects before opting for seemingly high-value IVF packages.

Making Fertility Affordable and Understandable

Information about cost is not usually advertised on clinics websites for obvious reasons.

At Honest Fertility, we strongly believe fertility treatment costs should be transparent and made affordable for patients.

After understanding the distribution of cost, financial concerns inevitably arise.

At Honest Fertility, we have something for you – learn about fertility treatment payment options.

Example IVF Cycle Costs

Estimated treatment and additional out-of-pocket costs for 1 IVF cycle at a mid-priced clinic in the US.

Item Estimated Cost
Consultation $400
Medication $5,000
PGS/PGD $5,000
IVF $11,000
ICSI $2,000
Embryo Freezing $3,000
Total $26,400

A single IVF cycle costs around $26,400. Different insurance policies provide various extent of coverage. Additionally, while clinics quote IVF in terms of ‘cycles’, the national average live birth success rate is 40%, meaning most women in the US will need multiple IVF cycles in order to have a baby.

To illustrate the total cost of a treatment cycle, we’ve selected a mid-priced clinic along with mid-range costs for extra costs not included in the treatment cycle. When budgeting for IVF treatment, we recommend saving or applying for a medical loan that covers 3 IVF treatment cycles. In some cases, for example if you have a particular complex fertility issue or are of an advanced age in terms of treatment, your specialist will give you a better indication of success rates by cycle, which you can use to budget.

Learn more about IVF success rates.