How Do I Pay For IVF—And How Much Is Too Much to Spend?

On this episode of the Money Confidential podcast, host Stefanie O’Connell Rodriguez turns to Natalie Torres-Haddad, a financial literacy and mental health advocate, to talk about navigating the emotional and financial decisions around fertility treatments.

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Published on June 13, 2022

one baby soothers in a petri dishes — Photo: Olivia Barr

Every Monday on the Money Confidential podcast, host Stefanie O'Connell Rodriguez, a nationally recognized money expert, delves into your (confidential) money problems and delivers smart, practical, and completely doable solutions that will help you work toward your ultimate financial goals. This is the place to come for real talk about money—and real solutions that actually work.

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On This Episode

Fertility treatments like IVF and IUI are expensive, and for most Americans, not covered by insurance. Not to mention, there are no guarantees it will work on the first try, making it difficult to know how much these treatments will ultimately cost. This week on Money Confidential, we talk about how to pay for the fertility treatments you need and navigate a financial plan in the midst of so many unknowns.

Meet Our Caller

"Nora" is a 35-year-old marketing and advertising consultant based in the Bay Area. After trying to conceive for a little over a year, Nora reached out to her general practitioner for advice and decided to start IVF, short for "in vitro fertilization." With the cost of a single IVF cycle ranging from $15,000 to $30,000—depending on the location, center, and the patient's individual medication needs—Nora and her husband have been confronting difficult conversations around how much they're willing to spend to try to get pregnant and how they can budget the procedures into their overall financial plan.

Anonymous caller "Nora"

"It's hard to get around emotionally, cause we're still in this place where we want to have a family, and it's hard to put a price tag on how much we're willing to spend to have children."

—Anonymous caller "Nora"

Meet Host Stefanie O'Connell Rodriguez

Money confidential podcast - host, Stefanie O'Connell Rodriguez — Caroline White Photography

Stefanie is a nationally recognized personal finance expert ready to talk work, worth, and money with unapologetically ambitious women. Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and Oprah Magazine, and Stefanie has appeared on ABC World News, CBSN, Fox & Friends, Fox Business, Bloomberg, The Dr. Oz Show, The Doctors, and more to share her smart, practical solutions to any money problem.

Meet Our Expert, Natalie Torres-Haddad, MPA

Natalie Torres-Haddad is an international award-winning author, financial and mental health educator, and bilingual podcast host of Financially Savvy in 20 Minutes. She's a two-time TEDx speaker, known for her talks, "The Foreign Language of Financial Literacy" and "The Confidence Gap." She's a first-generation college graduate from California State University, Long Beach, where she earned a bachelor's degree in finance and international business. She also earned a master's degree in public administration from California State University, Northridge. She has been featured in Forbes, HuffPost, LA Times, and more.

Advice From the Episode

Natalie Torres-Haddad

"Enlist your family and friends that you know will be supportive ... [My husband and I] didn't really talk about [IVF], until we started involving some of our closest family members; it helped carry the load of it."

—Natalie Torres-Haddad

When planning for IVF treatment, shop around and compare prices across providers, clinics, and pharmacies. — Natalie
When considering your budget for IVF, consider what's doable alongside your other financial obligations and ask yourself, "What is my limit?" — Natalie

Stefanie O'Connell Rodriquez

"Once you've clarified what costs are and aren't covered by your insurance provider, you can have the same conversation with your employer to see if they provide any fertility benefit coverage on top of your existing health insurance plan."

—Stefanie O'Connell Rodriquez

"Money is always about so much more than just the bottom line. Especially when it comes to decisions around fertility, they can be as emotional as they are expensive—if not more so." — Stefanie

Links and Resources

Download the transcript for this episode.

Follow Natalie Torres-Haddad on Twitter and Instagram
Visit financiallysavvyin20minutes.com
Listen to Financially Savvy in 20 Minutes
Check out the find a grant tool at cofertility.com

Have a money issue you'd like to share on a future episode? Fill out our intake form.

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