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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Sticker shock at the fertility clinic is going international. With a single IVF cycle costing over $29,000 in the US — and insurance rarely covering it — a growing number of Americans are heading to Greece and Spain, where the same treatment can cost as little as $3,000–$6,000. The trend is real: American use of European fertility clinics jumped more than 37% last year.
When a Florida couple was quoted $40,000 for one round of IVF, they booked flights to Athens instead. They're far from alone. Skyrocketing fertility treatment costs in the US — driven by inflation, a shortage of embryologists, pandemic backlogs, and private equity — are pushing Americans to seek IVF abroad, particularly in Greece and Spain, where costs are a fraction of what clinics charge stateside.
The Trump administration has made IVF access a stated priority, proposing rules to make employer-sponsored fertility coverage easier and launching TrumpRx to discount some IVF medications. But these steps face an uphill battle against a 90% rise in IVF drug costs since 2014, and the proposed employer coverage rule has yet to be finalized.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: Cross-border fertility care offers real savings, but comes with real risks — language barriers, unfamiliar regulations, embryo storage limits, and difficulty transferring medical records. As US costs remain out of reach for most patients, the fertility tourism trend shows no signs of slowing.
