Fertility support in the workplace: How to combat rising costs

More than ever before, employees are asking for and expecting fertility support in the workplace. While this care is incredibly important, it also can place increased financial pressure on employers. According to our 2025 State of Women’s & Family Health Benefits report, 70% of employers report increased fertility care costs, and an overwhelming 93% are concerned about these rising expenses.

This increasing financial burden is not only affecting employers. 28% of employees pursuing fertility treatment incurred debt to cover healthcare costs. Employers have a unique opportunity to provide meaningful support to their employees, enhancing employee well-being and improving retention. Fortunately, unmanageable fertility costs don’t have to be the status quo. By increasing access to preconception care, digital health support, and mental health care, employers can mitigate these expenses and improve the support available to their employees.

Learn more about the business case for offering comprehensive fertility benefits—including how leading employers are handling rising costs—with insights from our 2025 State of Women's & Family Health Benefits report.

Rising costs of fertility care are impacting both employees and employers

Nearly half of all employees are currently expecting a child or possibly planning to grow their family in the next one to two years, and nearly one in three have pursued fertility treatment, adoption, or surrogacy to start their families. 

However, the fertility process is far from cheap, and employees are facing challenges as a result. Due to the lack of clarity around costs before starting treatment, 46% of employees are saddled with surprise bills. Because of these unexpected costs, 28% of employees incur debt to cover fertility-related expenses and 45% end up delaying or forgoing financial priorities as a result.

The vast majority of employers are increasingly worried about these rising expenditures as well, with many reporting burgeoning costs over the past three years. Given these numbers, it's no surprise that workplace fertility support has become such a concern for both employers and employees alike.

How leading employers are tackling rising fertility care costs

Many employees are struggling to thrive in a society that doesn’t adequately support them or their families, and even though healthcare costs are rising, it’s still essential to offer support. When done well, companies can provide expanded women’s and family healthcare benefits while keeping costs in check, or even reducing them through wraparound digital support and preconception care. 

Expanding fertility benefits

Many employers (58%) plan to enhance or add fertility benefits to their benefits packages next year, with additional emphasis on preconception care and digital health tools—61% are adding preconception care, and 72% are increasing access to digital health tools in order to streamline care and reduce associated costs.

The goal of a fertility benefit is to provide people who are family planning with as much support as possible. These benefits should support the spectrum of family-building needs, including (but not limited to):

• Care before trying to get pregnant, like nutrition support and fertility awareness education
• Fertility testing and consultations
• Hormone treatments
• In vitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI), including coverage of necessary fertility medications
• Fertility preservation procedures like egg and sperm freezing
• Surrogacy and adoption support
• Mental health support
• Financial support

Importantly, your fertility benefits partner should not be incentivized to drive members towards fertility treatment. Instead, they should focus on providing holistic support that addresses employees’ full spectrum of needs. 

Increasing access to preconception care

More holistic care can serve as an antidote to increasing costs. One often overlooked strategy to reduce these costs is preconception care and education. Since preconception care provides employees with the resources they need to better understand their fertility, many employees can actually avoid costly fertility treatments altogether.

“Excellent fertility care starts with providing reliable, accessible information for the individual,” says Dr. Wael Salem, Medical Director of NDFC Scottsdale. “It should help to dispel misconceptions about how long getting pregnant should or shouldn't take. It should also help contextualize tests that people might be taking on their own, and offer simple ways to improve the likelihood of getting pregnant, including adjustments to diet and exercise. And finally, if necessary, it should help people determine when they need to seek help through a fertility clinic.”

According to Dr. Salem, the fact that so few of his patients seem to have access to proactive preconception and fertility services speaks to the misaligned incentives between patients, providers, and benefits vendors.

“When your only options are to go to a clinic, it gives this warped idea of what fertility is about,” says Dr. Salem. “When you have more personal support that helps you make the right decisions for your wellbeing, that helps everybody—the patient, the provider in the clinic, and the employer ultimately responsible for cost of care.”

Relying on digital health solutions

Another way to reduce costs for both employees and employers alike is through increased adoption of digital platforms, which can provide high-quality and vetted clinic recommendations, clear financial coverage information, and streamlined expense management. 

Additionally, as many companies shift back to in-person or hybrid work models, these in-office requirements can cause additional challenges for working parents and those navigating reproductive health issues. Virtual care can be a key component of easing this transition and minimizing employee burnout, since providing virtual benefits that work around employees’ schedules allows them to prioritize their health and the health of their family without compromising work productivity.

The business case for comprehensive fertility benefits

Employees expect better support

Employees are seeking seamless, end-to-end benefits that address their physical, emotional, and financial needs, with top priorities being support with mental health, preconception care, fertility, and childcare and parenting.

Good benefits also help with employee productivity and well-being, since reducing financial stress and access delays helps employees stay focused and healthier at work. In fact, 78% of employers report that their benefits offerings increase employee productivity, retention, and morale. Two-thirds of companies report that their health benefits helped improve the health of employees, and 60% believe it helped reduce absenteeism as well.

Additionally, holistic benefits can lower healthcare costs in the long run, since preconception care and digital health support can reduce overall costs by avoiding unnecessary treatments or lowering the number of expensive treatment cycles.While one round of IVF can cost upwards of $23,000, nearly one third of Maven fertility members achieve pregnancy without assisted reproductive technology (ART). 

Positive outcomes for employers

If employers fail to offer comprehensive, equitable care benefits, they risk losing valuable employees to other organizations that do. Investing in integrated benefits not only supports employees across every stage of their reproductive health journey but also fosters loyalty and strengthens workplace engagement.

More employers than ever recognize that reproductive and family benefits are important for attracting and retaining employees, with 84% of employers saying that reproductive and family benefits are important or very important for attracting employees, and 85% say they’re important for retaining employees.

Without meaningful fertility support, employers risk losing top talent—in fact, 66% of employees are willing to switch jobs for better reproductive health benefits.

Real-world impact: Cozen O'Connor

Cozen O'Connor has offered women's and family health benefits through Maven since 2019, continually expanding their offerings to be more holistic and inclusive. With Maven Managed Benefit, employees have access to a whole Maven care team to understand the family-building benefits available to them, as well as the financial implications to easily navigate necessary care.

"Maven ticked all the boxes of what we’re looking for," says Erin Bushnell, Chief Human Resources Officer at Cozen O'Connor. "It’s a hands-on approach where our employees have dedicated support to help them get the appropriate level of service, meet with the right providers, and understand the financial coverage available to them."

Taking action: steps to implement or improve fertility support in your workplace

Ready to make your fertility benefits more comprehensive, holistic, and cost-effective? Here are some practical recommendations for HR and benefits leaders to implement:

1. Audit your current benefits to identify gaps in fertility and family-building support. Consider implementing an annual employee benefits survey to understand what's already working and where people are needing more support.
2. Add or enhance preconception care to educate and support employees early in their fertility journey. In addition to being a valuable resource for employees, this preconception education can have significant cost savings for your company—30% of Maven members achieve pregnancy without IVF or IUI.
3. Partner with digital health platforms to provide seamless and transparent fertility care solutions. Especially as many employees already struggle to balance work and life responsibilities, virtual care can offer greater scheduling flexibility and timeliness.
4. Communicate clearly with employees about available benefits to ensure they understand their options and financial coverage. Make sure that cost information is as transparent as possible, with clear channels for reimbursement and questions.

The opportunity to make a difference

Rising fertility care costs pose a significant challenge for employers and employees alike. However, they also present an exciting opportunity for employers to make meaningful changes, better supporting their employees while helping their own bottom line. If you're looking to drive employee engagement and business growth with holistic benefits and care, Maven can help you evaluate your existing strategies and redesign your benefits program. Book a demo today to find out more.