The Cost Of Assisted Reproductive Technology Treatments

Expanding access to fertility care requires careful consideration of how benefits are designed, which services they cover, and their full costs to patients and health plans. A new white paper, The Cost of Assisted Reproductive Technology Treatments, reports findings from a retrospective actuarial analysis of commercial insurance claims examining costs associated with in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI), including costs that may be overlooked in conventional benefit estimates.

The Women’s Reproductive Health Foundation commissioned Axene Health Partners to conduct the analysis using commercial insurance claims from approximately five million members between 2021 and 2024.

What the analysis found

The analysis estimated an average total IVF cost of $29,585 per patient among members in fully mandated states who met the study’s definition of a complete IVF cycle. Pharmacy expenses represented approximately half of the total cost, although medication costs are frequently omitted or underestimated in published IVF cost estimates.

Costs also increased with repeated treatment. Average IVF costs rose from $18,757 for patients undergoing one cycle to $35,542 for those undergoing three or more cycles. The analysis found that higher spending across successive cycles did not produce proportional improvements in observed outcomes.

The study also examined costs extending beyond fertility procedures. Compared with matched non-ART groups, pregnancies following IVF or IUI had higher prenatal and delivery costs. Infants born following IVF also had higher neonatal and first-year healthcare costs. When treatment, prenatal, delivery, neonatal, and subsequent infant costs were combined, the paper estimated an incremental cost of approximately $54,400 per IVF-conceived birth relative to a naturally conceived birth.

What the findings mean for fertility care and benefit design

Expanding access to fertility benefits raises important questions about how those benefits should be designed and what they will cost. The analysis shows that the financial impact of assisted reproductive technology extends beyond the fertility procedure itself. Pharmacy expenses, repeated treatment cycles, prenatal and delivery care, and neonatal and first-year infant care all contribute to the overall cost profile.

These findings support a broader view of fertility care and its associated costs. From a restorative reproductive medicine perspective, fertility benefits should consider the full care pathway, including comprehensive evaluation of both female and male reproductive health, identification and treatment of underlying reproductive conditions, rather than viewing procedural treatment costs in isolation.

Related research

A related preprint, Real-World Fertility Evaluation and Care Prior to In Vitro Fertilization , rexamines documented fertility evaluation and care before IVF. The manuscript is currently under peer review and may differ from any final published version.