Key Takeaways:
A single elective egg-freezing cycle in the U.S. runs about $16,000 on average, and a 38-year-old in New York City who needs three cycles can face a total tab near $47,000, according to FertilityIQ, a fertility data and education platform. The procedure has drawn fresh attention after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said on social media that she was freezing her eggs and had taken time "to consider, weigh and save up for" the decision.
"But that choice is still disproportionately available to people who can afford it or have good fertility benefits," said Natalie Lampert, author of "The Big Freeze," a book on egg freezing.
Health insurance coverage for elective egg freezing remains the exception rather than the rule, said Danielle Melfi, CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility and Family Building Association. Around 22 percent of employers with 500 or more workers offered coverage in 2025, up from 5 percent in 2015, according to Mercer. Among companies with more than 5,000 employees, 40 percent provided the benefit last year, compared with 8 percent a decade earlier. Even where coverage exists, a maximum lifetime benefit of about $20,000 is common, Mercer found.
The cost barrier matters because egg freezing is framed largely as a technology that expands reproductive choice, yet that choice skews toward women with strong employer benefits or the means to pay out of pocket. The Affordable Care Act marketplace does not establish a federal requirement for plans to cover IVF or elective egg freezing, Melfi said, and no states cover elective egg freezing for those on Medicaid. More than a dozen states do mandate fertility-preservation coverage before certain medical treatments, such as chemotherapy, that can affect fertility — but that protection does not reach all plans.
The upfront cycle cost is only part of the bill. After extraction, women typically pay an ongoing storage fee, said Carolyn McClanahan, a physician and certified financial planner who founded Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida. Five years of storage in New York City can cost $5,500, FertilityIQ found. Thawing and implanting the eggs adds further expense, which is why most couples try to conceive naturally before turning to frozen eggs or embryos, McClanahan said.
Taxes can add another layer. If an employer pays for elective egg freezing, the benefit counts as earned income and is taxed, McClanahan said, with the amount typically added to a W-2. For a $20,000 benefit, a single woman earning $80,000 a year would owe an extra $4,400 to the IRS, she estimated. Freezing eggs because of a medical condition, such as a cancer diagnosis whose treatment would harm future fertility, may qualify for the medical expense deduction — but freezing to delay childbirth is considered a personal choice and is not deductible, McClanahan said.
The financial picture stands in sharp contrast to some other countries. In France, elective egg freezing is fully covered by the country's public health insurance. For U.S. women weighing the procedure, the practical takeaway is to budget for $10,000 to $47,000 or more out of pocket, check whether a workplace plan covers the procedure and its tax treatment, and confirm whether a state mandate or medical-expense deduction applies to their situation.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
