Variable Costs and Saving Money with Nodal

First time gestational carriers in the US are usually paid $55,000+ in base compensation plus additional reimbursements of $10,000+ for things like childcare, lost wages and undergoing invasive medical procedures.  The base compensation is usually divided into 9 or 10 equal monthly payments that begin at confirmation of fetal heartbeat and they are dispersed during the course of the pregnancy.  Intended parents should be aware that in most journeys, a gestational carrier makes almost no money in the 5+ months between match and embryo transfer; intended parents should do all they can to make the gestational carrier feel supported and happy during this lead up period and can consider providing some compensation earlier in the process.

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  If intended parents are paying a gestational carrier market rate in the United States ($55,000+), the minimum a journey will cost, excluding medical, is $125,000.  Why then do most of Nodal’s competitors charge an all-in number of $175,000+?  At Nodal, intended parents pay for what the journey actually costs instead of an all-in padded number.  Some of these costs are fixed and a few of the costs are highly variable.  Examples of fixed costs that intended parents pay in every journey include legal (approximately $10,000), escrow (approximately $2,000), life insurance for the gestational carrier and basic travel for doctors appointments.  These fixed costs are included in the $125,000 above.  The highly variable costs are what lead to a journey being much closer to the $175,000+ all-in number  The following are the four main variables that bring the cost of a journey above the $125,000 number:

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Agency Costs (exceeding $25,000)

Most of Nodal’s competitors charge $40,000+ for an agency fee to cover matching and case management and a six figure check is usually required upfront to be given the privilege of joining a several months long waitlist. During the Covid pandemic, it became tougher to recruit surrogates given travel restrictions and the politicization of vaccines; many agencies started offering VIP or skip the line programs during this time which can more than double (or triple) the agency fee required. Additionally, international demand for US gestational carriers has never been higher–factors behind this include the war in Ukraine and changing surrogacy laws in countries such as India.

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Health Insurance Costs for the Gestational Carrier

A supplemental health insurance policy for the gestational carrier can be one of the largest line items for intended parents, especially if intended parents choose to purchase a policy in a non-time sensitive manner outside of end of the year open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act plans.  Private health insurance plans through Lloyds of London cost more than $30,000 for a singleton pregnancy.  It does require a bit of luck but intended parents can find a surrogate with surrogacy friendly insurance living in a state where insurance liens are not a concern.

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Gestational Carrier Compensation

Most intended parents feel good if the gestational carrier, the woman doing the heavy lifting, takes home the largest percentage possible of the overall spend by the intended parents. Intended parents often look to spend less on other variables like agency costs when working to stretch finite resources.

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Failed Embryo Transfers and Pregnancy Complications

While the first three variables can be determined at the outset of a journey when budgeting, the fourth variable cannot be known without a crystal ball.  A complicated pregnancy can result in substantial additional costs including potential lost wages and increased childcare coverage required for the gestational carrier.  Please note that it is possible to purchase insurance to limit costs in case of a complicated pregnancy requiring bedrest or lost organs, like a hysterectomy.

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To conclude, if intended parents pay a base compensation close to $55,000, the gestational carrier has surrogacy friendly health insurance and an uncomplicated pregnancy, then intended parents would significantly overpay at one of Nodal’s $175,000 all-in agency competitors and could significantly save money working with Nodal!

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