AOC Highlights Egg Freezing Costs That Can Reach $47,000 for Some Women

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said publicly this week that she has been saving up to freeze her eggs, drawing attention to a procedure that can cost tens of thousands of dollars and remains largely uncovered by health insurance.

The congresswoman, who is 36, said in an Instagram story that the decision had taken time "to consider, weigh and save up for." She also noted that her own health insurance does not cover "one penny" of the procedure.

A single egg freezing cycle — including hormone stimulation and the retrieval procedure — costs around $16,000 on average, according to FertilityIQ, a fertility data and education platform. However, costs vary significantly by location, and many women require more than one cycle to reach their target egg count.

For a 38-year-old woman in New York City who needs three cycles, the total can reach $47,000, according to a FertilityIQ analysis.

Dr. Marcelle Cedars, a professor and director at the University of California, San Francisco's Center for Reproductive Health, said women under 35 should ideally freeze at least 20 eggs, while those over that age typically need a higher number. A patient's overall health and a facility's techniques also affect how many cycles are necessary.

"A single egg freezing cycle in the United States typically costs $10,000 to $20,000," said Dr. Stephanie Kuku, a former gynecologist and senior adviser to the World Health Organization. Kuku, whose research has examined IVF accessibility, has found that reducing fertility treatment costs increases birth rates.

Health insurance coverage for elective egg freezing remains limited. Around 22% of employers with 500 or more workers provided coverage for elective egg freezing in 2025, up from 5% in 2015, according to Mercer. Among companies with over 5,000 employees, 40% offered the benefit last year, compared with only 8% a decade earlier.

Even among employers that do offer coverage, a maximum lifetime benefit of around $20,000 is common, Mercer found.

"Where we are seeing meaningful growth is through workplace benefits," said Danielle Melfi, CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility and Family Building Association. She added that those without employer-sponsored plans typically bear the full cost themselves.

The Affordable Care Act marketplace does not establish a federal requirement for plans to cover IVF or elective egg freezing, Melfi said. No states cover elective egg freezing for Medicaid enrollees, though more than a dozen states mandate fertility preservation coverage before certain medical treatments — such as chemotherapy — that can affect the body's reproductive capacity.

Storage fees and taxes add further to the overall bill. Five years of egg storage in New York City can cost $5,500, according to FertilityIQ. If a woman later chooses to use her frozen eggs, she will also face costs for thawing and implantation. Health insurance is more likely to cover IVF when it results from medically documented infertility than from personal choice.

Taxes are another consideration. If an employer pays for elective egg freezing as a benefit, that amount can be treated as taxable income, according to Carolyn McClanahan, a physician and certified financial planner and founder of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida.

For comparison, in France, elective egg freezing is fully covered by the country's public health insurance.

Natalie Lampert, the author of "The Big Freeze," said egg freezing is framed mostly as a technology that gives women "more reproductive choice." "But that choice is still disproportionately available to people who can afford it or have good fertility benefits," Lampert said.

Ocasio-Cortez, who recently said on ABC's "This Week" that she has not ruled out a future presidential or U.S. Senate campaign, did not respond to a request for comment. The congresswoman's public disclosure comes as employer coverage of elective fertility procedures continues to expand — albeit unevenly across income levels and industries — signaling that access to reproductive technology remains closely tied to economic circumstance.

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