Can I complete a surrogacy for $100,000?
Why $100,000 for surrogacy is on the low-side but doable with Made in the USA Surrogacy!
Hello intended parents.
We are so glad you have come to our blog looking for information regarding your surrogacy journey.
Whether you are a parent who has embryos and a fertility clinic that is ready for a surrogate mother, or whether you are researching the process of surrogacy to hire a surrogate- we know that the cost to hire a surrogate can be a daunting investment. We want to provide you with enough information regarding the cost of a surrogate so that you are well prepared to go into your journey to find a surrogate.
Without a doubt, the most asked question from parents wanting to find a surrogate is what does it cost to hire a surrogate?
In this article, we will discuss in depth the cost to hire a surrogate.
But we also want to explore the feasibility of parents looking to hire a surrogate on a budget. Next to “how much does a surrogate cost”- our most asked question is “can I do surrogacy for $100,000?”
Let’s discuss why this number is feasible, but it is more of the “exception” than the rule when it comes to how much it costs to hire a surrogate.
To reach the $100,000 figure, you will need 6 parts of your surrogacy journey to align properly.
#1 – Your surrogacy agency’s fee must not exceed $25,000
Because the cost of a surrogacy journey is unique in the number of costs it must cover, from your surrogate’s health insurance to your attorney to your surrogate’s travel costs, it can get expensive. If you are trying to stay at $100,000 for your entire surrogacy journey, you will want to make sure that the surrogate agency you hire has an affordable agency fee. We at Made in the USA Surrogacy have regularly and routinely exceeded parents’ expectations to have their surrogacy budget meet the $100,000 mark- but not without making sure that our agency fee is one of the most affordable for surrogacy agencies in California.
Agency fees for surrogacy journeys vary greatly from $25,000-$40,000 depending on the surrogate agency you choose to go with. Typically, the bigger the name in our business the bigger the price-tag of the agency (since their costs to acquire surrogates is higher than our boutique surrogacy agency), and you won’t necessarily receive any less service from us. Don’t be fooled, you don’t need to pay a higher agency fee to be matched with excellent surrogates and receive excellent service. We keep our operation lean and efficient so as to save you the most amount of money on your expensive surrogate journey. This is not to say that going with a larger surrogate agency is not a good thing to do or won’t be right for your situation, but if you are trying to hit the $100,000 mark for a complete surrogacy journey- chances are you will need a surrogate agency like Made in the USA Surrogacy that is built to be efficient for this purpose.
#2 – You will most certainly need a surrogate with “surrogate friendly” insurance
Even though there is a lot of hype about finding a surrogate with surrogate friendly insurance- the truth is that health insurance policies that cover surrogacy are few and far between. The verbiage of health insurance policies is extremely vague and for a reason. Even if the proposed health insurance policy may in theory cover surrogacy related pregnancies because surrogacy is not necessarily mentioned- it can easily be excluded as well. The myth that surrogate friendly insurance is easy to come by and it is plentiful in the arena of finding a surrogate is false. The number of surrogate candidates that come to our agency to become a surrogate who already have a policy in place that will cover surrogacy is probably around the 10% mark. It’s better to err on the side of caution as an intended parent- plan to budget around $25,000 for your surrogate’s health insurance just in case.
Also, there can be a lot of confusion in relying on a “surrogate friendly” policy exclusively. In fact, it is dangerous and not recommended. Many of these policies we come across do not specifically mention or deny surrogacy as a covered expense. Therefore, we suggest that intended parents use a surrogate health policy that is “contingent.” Basically, it will become active if in the case the insurance company denies coverage for the surrogacy after the fact- up to 6 months after birth. It can be a scary thought, but insurance companies to deny coverage for surrogacy even if it was declared. Don’t worry though- we will help you with the ins and outs of surrogate health insurance.
#3 – Do not attempt to “go-independent”
By far the worst way to save money on your surrogacy journey and your way to finding a surrogate is to try to “go-independent.” We know that hitting the $100,000 figure may seem out of reach due to the high costs associated with a surrogacy- and the immense pull from social media websites and blogs telling you to save money by going independent with your surrogacy journey is hard to ignore. However, going independent for your surrogacy journey could prove to be one of your worst mistakes– besides a major headache. Random women who want to commit to a surrogacy journey (in other words- women you’ve found online through their own advertisement) are almost certainly not the woman that we would approve for surrogacy. They tend to be extremely money motivated, anxious about other matters other than the well-being of your child and can prove to be hard to commit and change their minds many times over. We can’t even begin to tell you how many parents come to our agency looking to find a surrogate with us- after failing multiple times with “matches” from women found online- and who have not been previously vetted by a reputable surrogacy agency such as ours.
There is a reason you pay for the services that Made in the USA Surrogacy provides. Having the surrogate remain accountable to our surrogacy process, being in contact with our agency exclusively (prior to the contract with you as a parent) and having clear expectations and guidelines- will go a very long way to ensure that your surrogacy journey is successful and your surrogate is committed until the end.
Make no mistake- you can still make the $100,000 budget with our agency fee and other associated costs, even without going independent. We know because we have done it!
#4 – Your surrogate most likely will have to be a stay at home mom- not employed, or not married
You most likely will not hit the $100,000 mark if a few factors are not met- a reasonable agency fee and surrogate compensation package, pre-existing surrogate-friendly insurance, or factors such as a stay-at-home mom or single mom. The average that we see for surrogates to be compensated for lost wages is anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000. If your surrogate mother is married, with most surrogate agencies, you will be required to compensate up to 10 days of lost wages for her spouse (maybe more or less depending on your surrogate agency) as her spouse is primary support during her appointments and delivery. This could be an added increase of compensation to your surrogate of up to $5,000 or more. The number of stay-at-home moms who are not employed who want to become a surrogate is few and far between. The more we talk about it- hopefully it’s becoming clear how many hoops there are to jump through in order to find a surrogate with these many qualities- or how valuable it is if your surrogate agency HAS ONE OF THESE SURROGATES AVAILABLE!
#5 – Your surrogate may have to be local to save on travel costs
We can’t tell you how many intended parents wish to have a surrogate mother who lives near them, or near their fertility clinic. However, no amount of wishing is going to provide you with a surrogate near your neck of the woods. Surrogate candidates can come from all over the US- and who’s available as a surrogate prospect for you may drastically depend on when you sign up for your surrogacy services. If your surrogate mother does not live near your clinic or is based in another state- just know her travel costs will most likely exceed $5,000 if she is out of state and is married.
For this reason- we encourage parents to plan on going with a surrogate agency that is near them- such as Made in the USA Surrogacy- located in the Roseville, Sacramento area- as we do local marketing and acquire local California based surrogates that are essential to your surrogacy journey and your surrogacy budget.
#6 – Base compensation cannot exceed $50,000 (even before surrogate benefit package!)
If you are researching surrogate agencies in California- look no further than Made in the USA Surrogacy. Our BASE compensation for surrogates is $40,000. Part of our strategy is to make sure that surrogate compensation is competitive with the market, but also not exorbitant. Along with all other surrogate benefits- your surrogate compensation will be right around $50,000 with our agency. If you go with a different surrogate agency in California who is competing for surrogates in California- the large majority of them are offering BASE compensation in excess of $50,000- this typically does not even include the benefits we have mentioned.
BOTTOM LINE- Yes, $100,000 for a surrogacy journey is doable. It takes practice, finesse, and the expertise of a surrogate agency such as ours to make sure everything comes together to make a budget of $100,000 happen. We tell every parent to plan on $100,000, but the truth is- most surrogacy journeys that will go through to completion with a great candidate may need a little more than that.
If you read this article- and you still think that the cost to hire a surrogate is expensive at $100,000- please think again. Many surrogate agencies in California are not only expensive on their agency fee (higher than $25K), but their surrogate mothers are advertised to have base compensations above $50-60K!) That’s already $20,000 above our costs for a surrogate mother, and we haven’t even discussed anything else in their surrogate benefit package!
The truth is- the likelihood of every one of these factors coming together so that you can make your $100,000 surrogacy budget is slim and could take you even more time to find the right surrogate. But we have met this budget for parent’s time and time again, and have set our fees and costs to hire a surrogate about as low as makes sense for this opportunity and still have a successful outcome. The fact that we are a local, knowledgeable, boutique surrogacy agency- means that we can provide parents the best value possible on every one of our surrogate prospects– or we just keep looking for your match!
The best option for most parents is to continue saving towards their goal of hiring a surrogate mother- (with the expectation that not every one of these factors may come together for them) and they should plan for $100,000 at the very least- and up to a $140,000 target. This will ensure that not only will most any of our surrogate mothers be a fit for them- but fewer budget expectations for the surrogate to meet up front will mean that it will take less time to find the right surrogate for you if you are not budget-constrained. Please also take a look at this article about surrogacy financing for some ideas of how to finance your surrogacy journey.
If you’re a parent who has embryos with a local fertility clinic and you’ve been waiting to find your surrogate- don’t wait any longer. We know and understand your budgetary concerns, and we have positioned our surrogate agency to be affordable to couples who are budget conscious but still want and need the full services of a dedicated surrogate agency!
Don’t wait to find your surrogate – contact us today or call us at 916-226-4342!
