High fertility costs push Americans abroad for IVF treatment

01 Sep 2026, 01:20 · Medical Xpress

by LJ Dawson

edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Andrew Zinin

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A growing number of Americans are looking abroad, particularly to Greece and Spain, to escape the high cost of fertility treatments in the U.S., where such procedures are often not covered by insurance. The treatments include in vitro fertilization, which involves ovulation stimulation, retrieving eggs, fertilizing them in a lab and transferring the embryos into the uterus. Other less intensive medical therapies also address infertility.

President Donald Trump has made fertility, and IVF in particular, a focus of his administration's agenda after he promised total coverage for women during his 2024 campaign. His administration proposed a rule in May intended to make it easier for employers to offer fertility coverage, although it has yet to be finalized.

So far, the most concrete result has been lower costs for some IVF medications through TrumpRx, a site where cash-paying patients can find some discounted medicines through participating pharmacies. The White House projected that patients could save up to $2,200 per IVF cycle.

While significant, those savings are up against a 90% rise in IVF medication costs since 2014, according to GoodRx, a prescription discount service.

A study of insured Americans released in July by Axene Health Partners and the Women's Reproductive Health Foundation found that the overall cost for a cycle of IVF was more than $29,000—or 35% of the median annual household income in the U.S. (Median means half earn more, half earn less.)

Genetic testing, embryo storage, pregnancy care and delivery costs can push the total over $54,000 per IVF-conceived birth, according to the study. An average patient needs two to three cycles to successfully have a child, so costs for many patients would be even higher.

Infertility affects nearly 7 million people in the U.S., but only an estimated 24% of treatment needs are met because of high costs and limited insurance coverage, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. The condition is believed to be rising partly because people are having children later, as well as because of environmental factors such as pollution.

Still, more than 100,000 babies were born via IVF in the U.S. in 2024—a record, according to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. An increasing share of people hoping to become parents are seeking help in Europe: The number of Americans choosing European clinics grew by more than 37% last year, according to Jakub Dejewski, chair of the European Fertility Society, a group that tracks data on fertility treatment in Europe.

While some states have passed laws to require insurers to pay for some fertility care, coverage varies widely.

Treatment plus island-hopping tours

The price of IVF and uncertainty around proposed personhood legislation in Florida. IVF in Greece using a patient's own eggs typically costs around $3,000 to $4,000, not including medication, so even with travel, it is often a fraction of what patients pay in the U.S.

"Americans choose Greece because they can access treatment that is more affordable, faster to begin and well supported for international patients," Dejewski said.

Patients in Greece do face some legal restrictions: Embryo storage is time-limited, donor anonymity is standard, sex selection and embryo-transfer numbers are restricted, surrogacy access is limited for nonresidents, and patients must carefully consider documentation requirements if they plan to move embryos between Greece and the U.S.

Dr. Penny Ampatzi said she is clear about these legal differences when Americans consult with her clinic in Athens. Serum IVF offers to schedule airport pickup for patients, as well as island-hopping tours. Ampatzi, the co-founder and clinic director at Serum IVF, said the main draw for the dozen or so American patients her clinic sees each month is personalized fertility treatment plans. Affordability is close behind. A cycle at her clinic costs just under $6,000, not including embryo freezing. Almost all of Serum's patients are foreigners, according to Ampatzi.

"You consider that you have a good possibility of success, plus you don't pay that high amount of money, and you have also combined the treatment with vacations—so it's a 'Why not?'" she said.

Not without risks

IVF costs in the U.S. have been driven up by a mix of inflation, a shortage of embryologists, a surge in demand after pandemic backlogs and private equity ownership, Dejewski said.

William Kiltz, vice president of marketing and business development at U.S.-based CNY Fertility, said the costs are becoming too far out of reach. "IVF is almost a treatment that only the top 1% can afford reasonably," he said.

Kiltz said CNY's model—offering IVF for around $8,000, not including embryo storage, at its 18 locations across the country—brings just enough profit to "keep the lights on" and open new locations while keeping costs lower. "We're trying to deliver this care at the absolute bare-minimum cost," he said.

More than half of CNY's patients travel from out of state in search of those lower-cost options, Kiltz said.

He said he hopes the IVF market will eventually settle out, as happens with many new technologies. But nearly five decades in, that normalization hasn't come. Kiltz believes that's because the market is so emotionally driven.

"People will do just about anything," Kiltz said. "There's certainly some risk in something like that, where the demand and the desire from a single individual is so strong that they could be taken advantage of."

Dr. Tarita Pakrashi, the head fertility doctor at the CNY location in Norfolk, Virginia, pointed to the difficulties of trying to vet a clinic overseas when one doesn't speak the language or understand local IVF regulations. It also can be challenging to transport temperature-sensitive medication back home.

"It's almost like a full-time job trying to play regulatory expert and inspector all at the same time, while you're a patient," Pakrashi said.

She said she also has had patients who sought treatment abroad return to her clinic struggling to transfer records or understand a diagnosis they received overseas. They often have to repeat tests.

And going abroad for IVF is still out of reach financially for many Americans.

Key medical concepts

Fertilization in VitroInfertilityGenetic Testing

Clinical categories

Obstetrics & gynecologyReproductive healthWomen's health Who's behind this story?

Sadie Harley

BSc Life Sciences & Ecology. Microbiology lab background with pharmaceutical news experience in oil, gas, and renewable industries. Full profile →

Andrew Zinin

Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile →

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