A New Military Cryopreservation Benefit, and a $10,000 Egg Freezing Package Built to Match It
September 15, 2026
Fertility Preservation, Military Families
“Serving our country shouldn’t mean putting your future family-building options on hold.” - Dr. Michael Murray, NCFMC Medical Director
Starting September 14, 2026, eligible active duty service members will have a new way to pay for egg freezing. The Defense Health Agency is launching a three-year Cryopreservation Demonstration Program that reimburses many of the costs of preserving eggs before a hazardous duty assignment or a long separation from a partner.
Northern California Fertility Medical Center is honored to support this effort by announcing an Active Duty Egg Freezing package price of $10,000. The pricing is intentional. Those are the annual reimbursement limits the program sets, so eligible service members can plan around a known number instead of guessing at a bill.
At a glance
- Program start date: September 14, 2026
- Duration: three-year pilot, unless extended
- Reimbursement: up to $10,000 per year for egg preservation
- Open to active duty Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force members who meet one of three eligibility conditions
- Participation is voluntary, and the program is not a TRICARE benefit
Civilian clinics are eligible. A clinic does not have to be TRICARE authorized to be used under this program.
Why this program exists
Military service shapes family timelines in ways most other careers do not. Deployments, sea duty, training rotations, and hazardous duty orders can arrive during exactly the years when many people would otherwise be starting a family. Egg freezing does not remove that tension, but it does separate two decisions that usually have to be made at the same time: when to preserve fertility, and when to actually have a child.
The Cryopreservation Demonstration Program was mandated by the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 and is overseen by the Defense Health Agency medical affairs directorate. Over the three-year pilot, the agency will track how often the benefit is used, what it costs, and how it affects readiness and retention.
“We take care of a lot of service members, and the conversation is almost always the same. They are not unsure about wanting a family. They are unsure about the timing, because the timing is not theirs to control. This program gives them a real option, and our job is to make sure the clinical side is straightforward and the cost is predictable.”
Dr. Michael Murray, Medical Director, Northern California Fertility Medical Center
Who is eligible
To participate, an active duty service member must meet at least one of the following conditions:
- Hold orders for duty that qualifies for hazardous duty pay
- Be likely to receive orders for duty that qualifies for hazardous duty pay within 120 days
- Be geographically separated under orders from a spouse, domestic partner, or dating partner for more than 180 days, including sea duty
Eligibility must be confirmed by your commander before you seek reimbursement. Every participant is also required to complete an advance medical directive stating how stored eggs should be handled in the event of death.
What the NCFMC packages include
Egg Freezing Package, $10,000
- Initial consultation and fertility assessment with an NCFMC physician
- All monitoring visits during the stimulation cycle, including ultrasounds and bloodwork
- Egg retrieval performed under sedation at our on-site facility
- Vitrification and freezing of all mature eggs retrieved
- First year of storage
- Documentation and itemized receipts formatted for program reimbursement
Fertility medications are dispensed by a pharmacy and billed separately at pharmacy cost. Medications are reimbursable under the program, but they count toward the same $10,000 annual cap, so our financial counselors will walk you through your expected total before you start a cycle.
Additional collections and additional years of storage are available at published rates, which we will share up front.
What the program does and does not reimburse
Along with the freezing itself, the program reimburses related medications, advanced diagnostics and as and imaging. Baseline labs are not included but often covered when drawn at your base. Storage and shipping costs may also be reimbursed. Embryo creation, in vitro fertilization, and other elective procedures are not covered under this benefit.
Timing matters
The program has real deadlines attached to orders. In general, all testing, retrieval, and freezing must be completed before your orders begin. If you qualify because of a long geographic separation, services may be provided before the separation starts or while it is ongoing, if care is available.
An egg freezing cycle typically takes two to three weeks from the start of stimulation to retrieval, with a consultation and testing visit before that. If you have orders in hand or expect them soon, call us early rather than late.
How to get started
- Review the eligibility requirements and program details on the Defense Health Agency program website at dha.mil/CryopreservationDemo.
- Get written confirmation of your eligibility from your commander.
- Submit a contact form and tell our team you are inquiring about the military cryopreservation package. We will prioritize scheduling based on your orders timeline.
- Complete your consultation and testing, then begin your cycle.
- Submit your itemized documentation for reimbursement. Our billing team will provide everything formatted for the program.
“Orders do not wait for a convenient month on the calendar. If someone comes to us with a report date eight weeks out, we can usually get them through a full cycle in that window. The mistake we see is waiting until the last two weeks to call.”
Dr. Michael Murray, Medical Director, Northern California Fertility Medical Center
Ready to talk it through?
Northern California Fertility Medical Center offers consultations for active duty service members considering fertility preservation under the Cryopreservation Demonstration Program. Contact our office to schedule, and let us know your orders timeline so we can plan around it.
This post is for general information and is not medical advice. Eligibility, coverage, and reimbursement are determined by the Defense Health Agency, not by Northern California Fertility Medical Center. Package pricing is subject to change. Outcomes from egg vary by individual, and no fertility preservation procedure guarantees a future pregnancy.