By Dr. Arnold Mahesan
Fertility SpecialistBeverly Hills Babies
Dr. Arnold Mahesan is a board-certified fertility specialist with extensive experience in IVF, fertility treatment, and gestational surrogacy. He is committed to helping intended parents navigate their journey with personalized care and expert guidance
The cost of surrogacy in California depends on what your journey requires and what a quoted program actually includes. Someone who already has embryos will have a different budget from someone who needs an egg donor and IVF. Pregnancy care, insurance, surrogate compensation and the possibility of additional treatment also affect the total.
For that reason, a headline price is only useful when you can see the services and assumptions behind it. Your first task is to understand the full journey budget, including expenses paid to other providers.
1. Separate embryo creation from the surrogacy journey
Embryo creation may involve fertility testing, an egg-donor arrangement, medication, egg retrieval, laboratory treatment, genetic testing and storage. Some families have completed these steps before contacting a surrogacy program. Others are beginning from the start.
Ask whether IVF is included in the program fee or billed separately. If you need an egg donor, ask which donor expenses are covered and whether the budget assumes one retrieval. A plan based on one cycle needs to explain what happens if additional treatment is recommended.
At BHB, we discuss the fertility plan alongside the surrogacy plan so you can understand how the two budgets fit together. A consultation is the right setting for current fees and a proposal based on your actual needs.
2. Understand compensation and pregnancy expenses
Surrogate compensation is one part of the budget. Reimbursements and other agreed benefits may include travel, childcare, lost wages and expenses associated with appointments or recovery. These categories should be explained clearly rather than folded into an unexplained total.
Insurance deserves particular attention. An existing policy should be reviewed for its treatment of a surrogate pregnancy. You also need to understand deductibles, exclusions and what happens if coverage changes. The baby’s medical coverage is a separate planning issue; it should not be assumed to follow automatically from the surrogate’s policy.
3. Look beyond the initial payment
A complete proposal should explain medical screening, matching, coordination, legal work, embryo transfer, medications and pregnancy-related care. Ask which providers bill you directly and which services are arranged through the program.
Also ask what happens if a candidate is not cleared, a match does not proceed, a transfer is cancelled or another transfer is needed. A pregnancy loss or a medical complication can change both the plan and its cost. Written terms are more useful than a broad reassurance that everything will be handled.
4. Compare the same scope of care
When comparing programs, request an itemized estimate and identify what is fixed, what varies and what remains outside the proposal. A lower starting fee may cover fewer services. A higher fee should have a clear explanation of the care and coordination it provides.
The practical question is whether you can fund the planned journey and absorb reasonable uncertainty without being forced into rushed medical decisions. I want intended parents to understand those decisions before treatment begins.
Contact Beverly Hills Babies for a personalized explanation of current program fees, fertility costs and the expenses to plan for separately.
