In the summer of 2024, Emilie and Justin Solomon found themselves on a top-secret mission in Greece.<\/p>\n
Their family and friends thought the adventure-loving couple was on another jet-setting vacation, but they were keeping something else under wraps: They had turned off their phone locations to hide visits to a Greek clinic where they were trying to get pregnant.<\/p>\n
The Solomons are among the growing numbers of Americans looking abroad, particularly to Greece and Spain, to escape the high cost of fertility treatments in the U.S., where such procedures are often not covered<\/a> by insurance. The treatments include in vitro fertilization<\/a>, which involves ovulation stimulation, retrieving the eggs, fertilizing them in a lab, and transferring the embryos into the uterus. Other less intensive medical therapies also address infertility.<\/p>\n Emilie and Justin Solomon visited Greece for IVF treatment in 2024 after they were quoted $40,000 for one round of treatment in Florida. (Emilie Solomon)<\/p>\n President Donald Trump has made fertility, and IVF in particular, a focus of his administration\u2019s agenda after he promised total coverage<\/a> for women during his 2024 campaign. His administration proposed a rule in May<\/a> intended to make it easier for employers to offer fertility coverage, although it has yet to be finalized. So far, the most concrete result has been lower costs for some IVF medications through TrumpRx, a site where cash-paying patients can find some discounted medicines<\/a> through participating pharmacies. The White House projected that patients could save up to $2,200 per IVF cycle<\/a>.<\/p>\n While significant, those savings are up against a 90% rise in IVF medication costs<\/a> since 2014, according to GoodRx, a prescription discount service. A study of insured Americans<\/a> released in July by Axene Health Partners and the Women\u2019s Reproductive Health Foundation found that the overall cost for a cycle of IVF was over $29,000 \u2014 or 35% of the median annual household income in the U.S. Genetic testing, embryo storage, pregnancy care, and delivery costs can push the total over $54,000 per IVF-conceived birth, according to the study. An average patient needs two to three cycles to successfully have a child, so the costs for many patients would be even higher.<\/p>\n Infertility affects nearly 7 million<\/a> people in the U.S., but only an estimated 24% of treatment needs are met, because of those high costs and limited insurance coverage, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. The condition is believed to be rising partly because<\/a> of people having children later, as well as environmental factors<\/a> such as pollution.<\/p>\n Still, more than 100,000 babies<\/a> were born via IVF in the U.S. in 2024 \u2014 a record, according to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. An increasing share of people hoping to be parents are seeking help in Europe: The number of Americans choosing European clinics grew by more than 37% last year, according to Jakub Dejewski, the chair of the European Fertility Society, a group that tracks data on fertility treatment in Europe.<\/p>\n The Solomons knew IVF was their only chance to have children together biologically, because Justin had testicular cancer in his late teens. What the college sweethearts had not expected was the cost \u2014 and they learned early in their IVF journey that their insurance would not cover their treatment. While some states have passed laws to require insurers<\/a> to pay for some fertility care, the coverage varies widely<\/a>.<\/p>\n When the couple first explored IVF in Florida, where they live, they were quoted $40,000 for one round of treatment. The price shocked them, and Emilie said the clinic\u2019s offer of a spring discount for an embryo transfer felt \u201coff-putting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey just kind of prey upon your hopes and dreams to be parents,\u201d Emilie said.<\/p>\n Treatment Plus Island-Hopping Tours<\/strong><\/p>\n The price of IVF and uncertainty around proposed personhood legislation<\/a> in Florida, which the Solomons feared could jeopardize<\/a> their control over their embryos, sent them to the Pelargos IVF Medical Group in Athens. There, in the first of two trips, Emilie underwent ovulation stimulation and egg retrieval.<\/p>\n Including medication, fertilization, storage, and the ultimate embryo insertion, the total treatment cost about $12,000, not including travel, according to the Solomons, a fraction of what they might have spent in America. That affordability drew the couple abroad, but so did the allure of sightseeing and experiencing a new country.<\/p>\n On that first trip, they spent a weekend between doctor appointments exploring the Greek island of Milos. Between Emilie\u2019s hormonal injections, they rented a boat to explore the island. Their video from the trip shows them climbing the island\u2019s striking white volcanic cliffs, and Emilie floating in the turquoise water of the Aegean Sea. Despite the emotional and physical toll of the IVF process, the couple remembers being in a little bubble, away from everyone, exploring a beautiful place.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was one of the best summers that we\u2019ve had,\u201d Emilie said.<\/p>\n In Greece, the Solomons were able to get a round of the IVF treatment for about $12,000, not including their travel expenses. (Emilie Solomon)<\/p>\n When they traveled back to Greece for their embryo transfer in October 2025, they spent two days in Croatia.<\/p>\n IVF in Greece using a patient\u2019s own eggs typically costs around $3,000 to $4,000, not including medication, so even with travel, it is often a fraction of what patients pay in the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cAmericans choose Greece because they can access treatment that is more affordable, faster to begin, and well supported for international patients,\u201d Dejewski said.<\/p>\n Jakub Dejewski, the chair of the European Fertility Society, which tracks data on fertility treatment in Europe, says the number of Americans choosing European IVF clinics grew by more than 37% in 2025 from the year before. (Dawid Linkowski)<\/p>\n Patients in Greece do face some legal restrictions: Embryo storage is time-limited, donor anonymity is standard, sex selection and embryo-transfer numbers are restricted, surrogacy access is limited for nonresidents, and patients must carefully consider documentation requirements if they plan to move embryos between Greece and the U.S.<\/p>\n Penny Ampatzi said she is clear about these legal differences when Americans consult with her clinic in Athens. Serum IVF offers to schedule airport pickup for patients, as well as island-hopping tours. Ampatzi, the co-founder and clinic director at Serum IVF, said the main draw for the dozen or so American patients her clinic sees each month is the personalized fertility treatment plans.<\/a> Affordability is close behind. A cycle at her clinic costs just under $6,000, not including embryo freezing. Almost all of Serum\u2019s patients are foreigners, according to Ampatzi.<\/p>\n \u201cYou consider that you have a good possibility of success, plus you don\u2019t pay that high amount of money, and you also have combined the treatment with holidays \u2014 so it\u2019s a \u2018Why not?\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Not Without Risks<\/strong><\/p>\n IVF costs in the U.S. have been driven up by a mix of inflation, a shortage of embryologists, a surge in demand after pandemic backlogs, and private equity ownership, Dejewski said.<\/p>\n William Kiltz, vice president of marketing and business development at U.S.-based CNY Fertility<\/a>, said that the costs are becoming too far out of reach. \u201cIVF is almost a treatment that only the top 1% can afford reasonably,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Kiltz said CNY\u2019s model \u2014 offering IVF for around $8,000, not including embryo storage, at its 18 locations across the country \u2014 brings just enough profit to \u201ckeep the lights on\u201d and open new locations while keeping its costs lower. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to deliver this care at the absolute bare-minimum cost,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n More than half of CNY\u2019s patients travel from out of state in search of those lower-cost options, Kiltz said.<\/p>\n He said he hopes the IVF market will eventually settle out, as happens with many new technologies. But nearly five decades in, that normalization hasn\u2019t come. Kiltz believes that\u2019s because the market is so emotionally driven.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople will do just about anything,\u201d Kiltz said. \u201cThere\u2019s certainly some risk in something like that, where the demand and the desire from a single individual is so strong that they could be taken advantage of.\u201d<\/p>\n Tarita Pakrashi<\/a>, the head fertility doctor at the CNY location in Norfolk, Virginia, pointed to the difficulties of trying to vet a clinic overseas when one doesn\u2019t speak the language or understand the local IVF regulations. It also can be challenging to transport temperature-sensitive medication back home.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s almost like a full-time job trying to play regulatory expert and inspector all at the same time, while you\u2019re a patient,\u201d Pakrashi said.<\/p>\n She said she also has had patients who sought treatment abroad return to her clinic struggling to transfer records or understand a diagnosis they received overseas. They often have to repeat tests.<\/p>\n And going abroad for IVF is still out of reach financially for many Americans.<\/p>\n The Solomons said seeking treatment overseas takes a certain type of adventurous spirit, too. But for them, all the logistics and travel were worth it. Their one cycle of IVF and two trips to Greece allowed them to welcome a healthy baby boy this summer.<\/p>\n After undergoing one round of IVF treatment in Greece, Emilie Solomon gave birth to a son this summer in Florida. (Susie Urff)<\/p>\n KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n This article<\/a> first appeared on KFF Health News<\/a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the summer of 2024, Emilie and Justin Solomon found themselves on a top-secret mission in Greece. Their family and friends thought the adventure-loving couple was on another jet-setting vacation, but they were keeping something else under wraps: They had turned off their phone locations to hide visits to a Greek clinic where they were…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":15291,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15290"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}