wow this is expensive!!!

[ss23]

sigh. i seem to have chosen an agency that is the most expensive! yes, they do keep all the charges 'in house', and the allowances for other things seem to be very generous (for the GC- monthly counseling for 12m, generous incidental fees, etc). a lot of what we do i think is going to over skype, so we will not have too many face-to-face meetings. i guess i just have to trust that they are doing their jobs!

the ivf clinic we used are also expensive- it was tough going thru ivf knowing that other women were paying 7k for a cycle and we were at 25k where we were. but our situation brought us to that point.

the agency and the lawyer both keep saying that finding insurance policies without exclusions is harder and harder these days... really sucks!

i think we are pretty much committted to staying in the state where we planning... there should be cost saving from travel expenses. CO seems to be a good state for PBO, maybe not so good for health insurance.

from what i read here, it may be that the insurance is not as big a deal- should be interesting to see what the agency and lawyer come up with in this regard...

its very tempting to just wing it, but hospitalization is so extremely expensive... you just don't want to get stuck holding that bag in the worst case scenario. i think i mentioned that our bill was 75k, and that was with insurance coverage- can you imagine what it would have been if our claims were denied and we had to pay OOP costs?! i shudder to think- it would have been way more than 75k, considering the insurance company is getting a better rate than someone with no coverage having to pay OOP... we are planning a singleton pregnancy, hopefully with no drama, so its tough to imagine that the actual costs of the pregnancy and birth could be as little as 5k, but wind up paying lloyd's 25k. highway robbery!

also, i do not mean to imply that those of you who have an agency that charges much less are getting inferior services! i am just wondering outloud why this agency is up there in costs.

[kristen88]

I'm familiar with CO attorneys and clinic if you need advice...and also health insurance (from a few years back).

[jlm4]

On our first journey our agency charged less than 5k and we got everything we needed, including a tremendous amount of guidance and education since we were new to the process.

Good luck to you with your journey - I know it seems like the reward (your baby) is so far away right now, but once s/he is here it will seem as though you've always had him/her in your arms!

[ss23]

it is amazing to me that one agency can charge 5k and one 20k? why is this? is the one charging 20k just fleecing desperate sucker IPs? it is hard for me to understand why there is such a huge price range between agencies. what are your opinions of this?

kristen88, i will try to message you, i am a new user and i have limited access to the sight it seems. i would love to hear how things went for you in CO, what your experiences were. thank you!

[kristen88]

You can email me at sunnynm3 at yahoo dot com

[AshKat]

Insurance companies don't pay cheaper rates? OOP usually end up paying a lot less for the same service. I paid OOP for my own pregnancy, and the bill endEd up being a lot cheaper than my bill said for my preg covered by insurance. My step father has had several surgeries on his back, all of them OOP, one of them a ground breaking pioneer surgery, and his costs were MUCH lower.

I thought that was a common complaint? I'm always hearing it when I go home, how it's so unfair that the numbers on the bill are so much higher for insurance than OOP. I believe the hospital charges the insurance an inflated rate as it's more of an 'endless' pot while only charge costs or close to it for most OOP.

This is only what I understand, I'm from Florida, but haven't lived there or dealt with insurance for more than 5 years or so.

Regardless, surrogacy in the USA is crazy expensive. I get boggled at what people pay here, but it doesn't even bat an eyelash at what I've seen people pay back home. Also helps that our agencies ("") are not-for-profit, which is legally required. Also helps that lawyers are worthless here, but you give up the security of a pbo and other things.

I wish it weren't this way, seems deserately unfair and the vast majority of surrogates would do lots to cheapen your costs as much as possible (looking for the cheapest way to travel, etc).

I hope your journey is fulfilling and that the money you spend all pays off in the end hon. xx

[kati06j]

I just wanted to make sure you know that the surrogates insurance does not pay for the baby's hospital stay yours does because it is your child. so you do not need to worry about long nicu stays and her insurance.

[cs mommy]

it is amazing to me that one agency can charge 5k and one 20k? why is this? is the one charging 20k just fleecing desperate sucker IPs? it is hard for me to understand why there is such a huge price range between agencies. what are your opinions of this?

kristen88, i will try to message you, i am a new user and i have limited access to the sight it seems. i would love to hear how things went for you in CO, what your experiences were. thank you!

i've been wondering same thing. one agency quoted me $6-8k whereas another quoted me $16k. whats the diff btwn these agencies?? more hand holding??

[ButterflyDream]

i've been wondering same thing. one agency quoted me $6-8k whereas another quoted me $16k. whats the diff btwn these agencies?? more hand holding??

To be honest, I really don't know. I can't imagine an agency doing more for me than what my current one already does (see my previous posts upthread), and their fee is $8K. I guess some agencies may have more staff and higher overhead costs. Others may feel that if people are willing to pay those fees, they may as well charge them. Clinics do the same thing, though--some charge $17K for a round of IVF, while othes do it for $13K.

[cs mommy]

To be honest, I really don't know. I can't imagine an agency doing more for me than what my current one already does (see my previous posts upthread), and their fee is $8K. I guess some agencies may have more staff and higher overhead costs. Others may feel that if people are willing to pay those fees, they may as well charge them. Clinics do the same thing, though--some charge $17K for a round of IVF, while othes do it for $13K.

hi tisha! i think i contacted the agency u may be with... could i possibly email u to discuss? thx!!

[ButterflyDream]

hi tisha! i think i contacted the agency u may be with... could i possibly email u to discuss? thx!!

Sure, send me a message through the boards!

[cs mommy]

Sure, send me a message through the boards!

sorry but i dont have enough postings (?) to send msg thru boards. could u email me if u get a chance? mrs.jeanette at gmail dot com. thx!

[ButterflyDream]

sorry but i dont have enough postings (?) to send msg thru boards. could u email me if u get a chance? mrs.jeanette at gmail dot com. thx!

E-mail sent! It's coming from a msn dot com address

I forget at what point you can start sending e-mail through the boards...maybe 50 posts?

[babybela92]

I have read the boards in over a year.... but I have a dream for a sibling project and not enough money to pay for it!

Somehow being here is helpful is reminding me to stick to my budget, save and write (my current career).

Anyway, Surrogacy Options was the agency we used for our first journey. We LOVED them and they cost under $5k.
They were so personal, caring and loving. They are a former GS and IP.

Best of luck

[ladyjanegray]

We also used Surrogacy Options and paid $4000 just over 3 years ago which i think was a reasonable fee given their level of involvement, after matching, was mainly advisory. The overall cost if the surrogacy was still steep though. We eventually paid about $100k in total. We did have a fabulous experience with a superb GC who went above and beyond the call of duty. Our 2 year old twins are worth every penny and more-priceless!!

All the best