Common Surrogacy Questions You Want Answered

If you’re an intended parent struggling with infertility, then you may have considered finding a surrogate of your own. However, there may be a few reasons that are keeping you from finding your surrogate mother or from committing to an agency. These reasons may be tied to a few common surrogacy questions that float around about the topic of surrogacy or starting with a surrogacy agency. Here are a few common surrogacy questions. We will answer why these specific questions and concerns about the surrogacy process is are incorrect and discuss a change in how you can think about them.

Common Surrogacy Questions About the Surrogacy Process

Some of the most common surrogacy questions are:

• Will all surrogate prospects have surrogate-friendly health insurance?
• How much will my surrogacy cost?
• Is the location of my surrogate important?
• Do I need to wait to find a surrogate until I have embryos?
• Do I need to wait to find a surrogate until I find a fertility clinic?
• Are there a lot of surrogate mothers available?

We will answer these common surrogacy questions below.

Surrogate-Friendly Health Insurance

A common surrogacy question is whether every surrogate will have “surrogate-friendly insurance.” The short answer to this question, is that surrogate mothers who reside in California most likely will not have surrogate-friendly insurance. This is due to the fact that surrogacy is now a prevalent practice that most insurers are aware of and insuring their best interests with their policies. This most likely results in the need for a negotiated surrogacy lien at the end of care or when a pregnancy was successful. This does not mean that surrogate-friendly does not exist in California, it is simply more difficult to find.

It’s easy to think that surrogates have already gone through the process of finding surrogate-friendly health insurance. It may be easy to assume as an intended parent that it’s easy for them to assume that the health insurance they’re already on also includes surrogacy as covered.

This isn’t typically the case. Most commercial health insurance companies don’t actually cover surrogacy, or they require a lien on her compensation. When a surrogate joins our surrogacy agency, we fully review their current surrogacy policy and help them find surrogate-friendly health insurance if their insurance policy doesn’t cover the surrogacy journey.

If a surrogate must have outside insurance, we help coordinate that as well, and have specific carriers that will cover the surrogacy. However, many of our surrogates are able to use their own surrogate insurance policy (depending on the company they have it with). Either way, insurance is nothing to worry about, we find a usable solution for each and every surrogacy.

How much will surrogacy cost?

With Made in the USA Surrogacy, surrogacy cost is $140,000-$150,000 depending on certain factors.

This number includes agency fees, escrow fees, surrogate lawyer fees, surrogate compensation and a surrogate’s health insurance policy.

Among our peers, our surrogacy cost is much more affordable. 

These fees and totals do not include IVF costs. Our surrogate agency is devoted to being transparent with both surrogates and intended parents struggling with infertility. We’ll always be honest with you about how much your surrogacy can cost. After finding your surrogate, we’ll run the numbers and give you an idea of what your surrogacy cost is, depending specifically on the surrogate mother you have chosen.

If you choose to go with a larger surrogacy agency, the cost of your surrogacy can easily eclipse $150,000-$250,000.

Is the Location of my Surrogate Important?

Many intended parents come to us with the surrogacy question about whether their surrogate mother will be near them. For some reason, it is an important factor to have a close physical proximity to their surrogate mother.

The availability of a surrogate mother who is near you may not be the most important preference if surrogates are scarce.

We have many parents who are looking for a surrogate who are adamant about location. But the truth is that many other surrogate friendly states exist.

We are more than capable of helping the transportation of your surrogate to the California fertility clinic of your choice.

California surrogacy laws are superior to many other states, but we have been very successful finding a surrogate in states such as Oregon, Nevada, Texas and Florida.

The short answer to this question, is that location is not an important factor, but it is a preference.

This is something you will need to decide if it is worth it to wait for a surrogate near you.

In some cases, this preference could delay your surrogacy by several months or years. It’s true that a simple plane trip is could be arranged to bring a willing surrogate to your IVF clinic of choice.

 

Can I Find A Surrogate Before I Create Embryos or Find an IVF Clinic?

Combining several of the surrogacy questions listed above, you do not need to wait to be matched with a surrogate before you form embryos, visit a fertility clinic, or attempt IVF.

When joining an agency by filling out the inquiry form, you can start the process of finding a surrogate. While some intended parents do choose to find an egg donor before a surrogate, this isn’t something that’s set in stone.

Our agency, in fact, can help you find those donors and fertility clinics. We have several California IVF clinics that work closely with our agency. We know they provide incredible results.

Since the time to find a surrogate gets longer and longer because availability of surrogate mothers is less and less, consider getting in line to find a surrogate now.

Even before you start searching for clinics or donors, fill out our inquiry first to start the process of being matched with a surrogate.

 

Surrogate Supply is Low

While you may find surrogates listing their services on certain social media sites, you should never trust those sources. Independent or freelance surrogates don’t have the same kind of protection that an agency offers. That also means there are fewer surrogates than you may realize.

Many intended parents decide to inquire with multiple surrogacy agencies, only to find out that they wait up to 12 months or more for a surrogate. Especially during COVID- demand for surrogates has surged while the number of surrogates has dwindled, due to world events and fear of the unknown.

Also, because surrogates have to pass rigorous qualifications to join an agency, less than 1% that apply actually are accepted as a surrogate. This ensures they’re healthy and have the right mindset for the job.

We encourage all intended parents to know about the costs of waiting to start your surrogacy. Don’t allow too many preferences to get in the way of you being matched with an incredible surrogate. Start with our agency today!