At Freeze, we help women decide if, when and where to freeze their eggs. Over the past several years, we have learned quite a few tricks of how to save women both time and money in the egg freezing process. We compiled some practical, simple ways to help you help lessen the cost of the procedure. While we understand freezing your eggs is a very personal decision, everyone can agree on wanting to save their time and keep money in their pocket.
Donate some of your eggs. Instead of donating eggs for cash compensation, there’s now an option to donate some eggs and keep some eggs for yourself. These new egg share models are a great opportunity if you are excited about egg freezing and simultaneously want to help a family who can’t conceive otherwise. Note: there are some clinical criteria that candidates must meet (e.g. be within a certain age range, have both ovaries , etc.) If you’d like to explore egg donation further, we recommend the Split program with Freeze by Co. You get to keep half the eggs you retrieve and enjoy free storage for up to 10 years. Take the quiz to learn more and see if you qualify.
Compare clinics in your area. We started Freeze in order to help women compare cycle-to-cycle prices in their area. When we were exploring our egg freezing options, we learned cycle prices could vary several thousands of dollars between clinics that were essentially the block from each other. Previously, it was extremely difficult to filter through which clinics offered egg freezing and get a straightforward cost. That’s why we launched the Compare Clinics tool - to make it simple to compare prices and locations for clinics in your area (or abroad). Compare Clinics on Freeze.
Use pre-tax money with your HSA/FSA. A great way to pay for fertility clinic services AND egg storage is with your HSA/FSA funds. By freezing your eggs with pre-tax money, you could save as much as several thousand dollars.
Explore freezing abroad. While an international trip to freeze your eggs may seem out of reach financially, oftentimes, the total cost of travel and egg freezing can cost less than freezing in your own city. There are many other factors in the egg freezing cost than just comparing cycle price to cycle price. Keep in mind storage fees, possible egg shipment charges and the cost of traveling (driving, Ubering, etc.) to all the appointments. Check out of Guide to Egg Freezing Around the World.
Ask your employer. As of 2020, 19% of employers were offering elective egg freezing as a benefit. Even if your company doesn’t promote the offering now, it doesn’t hurt asking the HR team if they may cover it or if they are considering it in the future. By inquiring, you are helping influence what benefits are offered in the future. If you are not comfortable asking, we encourage you to ask anonymously. Your request shows the demand for this benefit in their employee population.
Apply for a grant. If you are choosing to preserve your fertility and you or your partner have ever had a cancer diagnosis, discounts and grants exist. Livestrong offers a program for women who have ever had cancer or have a male partner who has ever had cancer. The program partners with fertility clinics to provide at least a 25% discount on cycle costs, and most (if not all) of your medication will be provided for free. (EMD Serono provides meds free through Livestrong. Ferring provides free medications directly.) FORCE is an organization that helps people make informed medical decisions, and they have great cancer-related resources. In addition to nonprofit organizations, you can ask businesses if they offer discounts for women with cancer patients. For example, Reprotech offers a discount on the storage of eggs. Fertility Within Reach lists many cancer and non-cancer-related grants and discount programs.
Ask about multiple cycle discounts and “freeze with a friend” programs. Just because a promotion is not advertised on a clinic’s website does not mean they don’t offer it. It’s always worth asking!
Sign up for the newsletters from clinics that you are considering. Many fertility clinics have opportunities for savings and promotions that are featured in their newsletters. Some clinics hope to fill their schedule at different times during the year. By being up-to-date on their newsletters, you can take advantage of these discounts.
Explore community-based financial resources. Many faith and local communities have resources to provide financial support to community members seeking fertility preservation. For example, in Miami, the greater Miami Jewish Federation has a Making Miracle Babies Fertility Fund. The fund provides interest-free loans of up to $18,000 to first-time Jewish would-be parents living in Miami-Dade County. In addition to exploring local community groups, we recommend checking out Resolve for fertility preservation grants and financial resources.
Research opportunities based on your profession. Shady Grove Fertility and US Fertility offer a discounted egg freezing program for surgical residents. It aims to safeguard family-building options for female surgical residents by offering egg-freezing services at a significant discount so that women can feel more confident when pursuing careers in surgery.
How to Save on Other Egg
Freezing-related Costs
Apply for discounted medications. The three major manufacturers of fertility medications that egg freezers take in the US offer discount programs.
Ferring Fertility has a program specifically for elective egg freezing for women who are not using insurance. Currently, it provides Menopur for 50% off the lowest prices listed on GoodRx.
EMD Serono has a financial assistance program based on your income.
Get your health insurance to pay for some. While most commercial medical insurance companies do not cover elective egg freezing, you can send a superbill to your insurance company. There is a chance they may cover some of the services rendered. Ask your clinic to make this superbill. It should be easy for them and no additional work for you so it is simple to submit.
Reduce storage costs. You do not have to store your eggs with the clinic where you froze your eggs. Many women choose to transfer their eggs to a long-term storage facility in order to save money on the annual storage fee. Keep in mind many storage facilities will give you a reduced rate if you are willing to pay for multiple years up front. Don’t be afraid to negotiate as a patient. When it comes time to move your eggs to the storage facility, you should ask if your current clinic will match the rate. Fertility clinics try very hard to keep your eggs. The clinic wants to be your clinic of choice for possible IVF in the future so they are incentivized to have you keep your eggs stored with them. While it may not work for every clinic, it’s worth a shot to ask if your clinic would be willing to match another storage quote you received.
While you just learned many very tactical actionable ways to save money and time, there are two key recommendations: compare your options and don’t be afraid to ask! Egg freezing is a large out-of-pocket expense for most women. Since this procedure is not covered by insurance, you can use this to your advantage. Just like you’d compare options and vet choices with other big purchases – like a new car or kitchen remodel – use your savvy consumer skills to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to ask clinics for discounts or to match prices of other clinics. Most importantly, know that now there are more egg freezing clinics options than ever before – you have options!
If you have any other suggestions that we should include or if any of these tips helped you, we’d love to hear from you! Send us a note at hello@freeze.health.
