Donor eggs, donor sperm, embryo donation, reciprocal IVF, IUI, egg freezing, surrogacy, adoption and fertility preservation are all family-building paths — and all of them can be covered by employer benefits. This page maps what plans typically pay for on each path, and the exact questions that surface the gaps before you spend money.
LGBTQIA+ people, single parents by choice, and anyone building a family outside a different-sex partnership are frequently written out of plan language rather than intentionally excluded. The most common culprit is an infertility definition that requires a period of unprotected intercourse with a partner of the opposite sex. Inclusive plans replace that with a definition based on the need for medical intervention to conceive, or drop the diagnosis requirement entirely. Knowing which definition your plan uses is usually the single highest-value thing you can find out.
Plans differ on whether they pay for the donor cycle, the agency or bank fee, donor screening and legal costs, or only the recipient's transfer. Cycle-based benefits often include a donor cycle; medical-plan riders often exclude everything but the recipient side.
Ask HR or the administrator
Donor egg benefits guide (PDF) — sent to you after you book a coaching call.
Book a call to unlockDonor sperm is one of the most common coverage gaps. Some plans pay for IUI but not the vial, the bank storage or the shipping — and some require documented unsuccessful IUI cycles before IVF or egg freezing, which quietly turns an uncovered cost into a prerequisite.
Ask HR or the administrator
Donor sperm benefits guide (PDF) — sent to you after you book a coaching call.
Book a call to unlockOne partner provides the eggs, the other carries. Coverage hinges on whether both people are enrolled members, and on whether the plan treats the non-carrying partner's retrieval as a covered service or as a donor cycle.
Ask HR or the administrator
Surrogacy benefits are usually a separate reimbursement fund rather than medical coverage, with a lifetime dollar cap. Carrier medical costs, agency fees, legal and escrow are treated differently from each other — and reimbursements are frequently taxable income.
Ask HR or the administrator
Surrogacy benefits guide (PDF) — sent to you after you book a coaching call.
Book a call to unlockAdoption assistance is common and often underused. Employers may reimburse agency, court, legal and travel costs, sometimes with a higher amount for a child with special needs, and often only after placement or finalization.
Ask HR or the administrator
Adoption benefits guide (PDF) — sent to you after you book a coaching call.
Book a call to unlockEgg, sperm and tissue preservation before gender-affirming hormone therapy or surgery is covered by a growing number of plans, usually under preservation rather than infertility. Storage duration is the detail people miss — coverage of the cycle rarely means coverage of the storage years.
Ask HR or the administrator
Benefits written for a couple can quietly exclude a solo parent. Inclusive designs cover treatment without requiring a partner, a diagnosis, or a period of unsuccessful conception.
Ask HR or the administrator
Filter the directory for donor, surrogacy and adoption benefits, or bring your plan documents to a coaching call and we'll read the definitions together.