The last few decades have brought incredible advancements in reproductive technologies – egg freezing has taken off since the experimental label was removed in 2012 and more people than ever are building their families through egg donor IVF. But despite ground-breaking innovations, high costs associated with fertility services still prevent many people from moving forward with treatment. 

At Cofertility, our mission is to make egg freezing and third party reproduction more accessible and empowering. Through our Split program, women can freeze their eggs for free when they donate half of the eggs retrieved to Intended Parents. By removing cash compensation, which has historically varied based on a donor’s personal, professional, and even medical background, our model makes family building through egg donation more human-centered and accessible. 

Still, there are myriad costs associated with the egg donation process – which is why we’re so proud to announce our partnership with Carrot Fertility, a fertility benefits provider that’s paving the way forward in making fertility care more accessible. 

Coverage for fertility treatment

Insurance coverage for egg freezing and IVF – and in particular, donor egg IVF – is nuanced, dependent on several policy- and geography-specific factors, among others.  What’s more, some services like elective egg freezing are left out of those policies in their entirety. In recent years, employers have filled some of these coverage gaps by contracting with companies that offer fertility benefits. 

Carrot Fertility is one such company that takes a flexible approach to fertility benefits. Carrot partners with employers and health plans to offer cash reimbursement for fertility services. They work closely with each employer or health plan customer to build a benefit offering for those companies’ employees or enrollees that includes a specific scope of services and puts a limit on total reimbursement allowed. 

Carrot “members” are those individuals whose employers or health plans have contracted with Carrot. Members can use their allotted Carrot benefit to pay for fertility services. In some cases, members will pay out of pocket and get reimbursed for care. In other cases, they are provided with a Carrot Card (physical or digital) that eliminates the need for individuals to even pay upfront for treatment. 

What we love about their model:

• Customizable: Carrot allows employers to customize coverage based on their budget and their employees' needs, a model that underscores how there is no one-size-fits all when it comes to fertility. 
• Broad coverage: Carrot’s comprehensive platform typically covers a range of fertility services, including egg freezing and donor egg treatments. The scope of service and overall budget is set by the employer. 
• Flexible payment: They offer a Carrot Card so that members can easily pay for care without having to front the cash themselves. 
• Personalized member experience: Carrot has a robust care navigation team that provides members with personalized Carrot plans and offers individualized support throughout their family building journeys.

Benefits for Cofertility and Carrot members

Carrot works with hundreds of companies, providing their employees with evidence-based support and reimbursement for services rendered across their fertility journeys. 

As a Carrot Partner, fees paid to Cofertility as part of a fertility journey are also eligible for cash reimbursement through Carrot. 

What’s more, Cofertility Intended Parents with Carrot benefits are also eligible to receive a discount off the Cofertility Coordination Fee. You can reach out to your Cofertility Member Advocate to learn more about how you can take advantage of this discount. We can also share a list of questions to ask your care advocate to help you understand the full picture of your benefits. 

And if you’re a Cofertility Keep member with Carrot benefits, our team is happy to help you select a clinic and make the most of your benefits. 

Whether Carrot or another benefit provider, we recommend speaking with your employer’s benefit team or your benefit provider’s patient care advocate to gain a clearer understanding of the coverage available to you. To learn more about additional benefits platforms that offer fertility coverage, check out this article.