How Much Does IVF Cost in the United States?

Dr. Eliran Mor And IVF Treatment: What Patients Should Know

Fertility care is about more than medication. Patients face two-week waits and frequent appointments, and they have to trust a Doctor with something deeply personal.




Dr. Eliran Mor is a reproductive endocrinologist in Southern California, and he has spent more than twenty years treating fertility patients, including with in vitro fertilization (IVF).

A Closer Look At Dr. Mor

His education and training span two continents. He received his medical degree from the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University in 1997 and then relocated to Brooklyn, where he completed a four-year obstetrics and gynecology residency at New York Methodist Hospital. He arrived in Los Angeles in 2001 for a three-year fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of Southern California, which he finished in 2004.

Dr. Mor holds board certification in reproductive endocrinology and infertility as well as in obstetrics and gynecology. People often overlook the second credential, yet it means he is also trained in surgery and obstetrics, which helps when a fertility problem has a structural cause, such as fibroids or an unusually shaped uterus.

His professional memberships include the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the Pacific Coast Reproductive Society, the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Dr. Mor also remains a clinical instructor at USC, which means he teaches alongside his clinical work. His command of English, Hebrew, French, and Spanish is useful in a city as linguistically diverse as Los Angeles.

He has researched topics such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), male factor infertility, blocked or damaged fallopian tubes, IVF stimulation protocols, congenital uterine differences, and pregnancy at advanced reproductive age. People are starting families later than they used to, and patients in that group benefit from a Doctor who knows what the research actually says about age.

Age and IVF: What the Research SaysAge and IVF: What the Research Says

How IVF Works, Without The Jargon

In a typical menstrual cycle, the body usually produces one mature egg. IVF tries to collect several, because more eggs means more chances at healthy embryos. So the first phase is about ovarian stimulation: a week or two of hormone injections, with frequent ultrasounds and blood tests to see how the follicles are developing. Doses often get adjusted along the way.

When the follicles are ready, a final “trigger” shot prepares the eggs for release. About thirty-six hours later, the eggs are retrieved during a short outpatient procedure under sedation. Most people are home the same day.

After retrieval, the work moves to the laboratory. Eggs and sperm are combined, either by letting them meet in a dish or through intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), where an embryologist places a single sperm directly into an egg. Doctors often use ICSI when sperm count or movement is a concern. During the next several days, the fertilized eggs grow into embryos.

The next step is the embryo transfer. Some cycles use a fresh embryo right away, while others freeze the embryos and transfer one later, in a frozen embryo transfer (FET). The procedure itself is fast, often over in minutes and usually without anesthesia. Then comes a wait of roughly two weeks before a pregnancy test. That wait is often described as the most stressful stretch of the whole process.

The specifics differ from person to person: which medication protocol to use, how many embryos to transfer, whether to freeze first, and whether genetic testing makes sense. Those are the decisions where an experienced physician matters most.

Continuity Of Care

Continuity is a central theme in how Dr. Mor describes his practice. According to him, he personally handles the major steps of a patient’s care, from consultations and after-hours questions to pelvic exams, ultrasounds, egg retrievals, embryo transfers, and any surgery that is needed.

Many fertility clinics run on a rotating team, and a patient might see a different physician at nearly every visit. When you’re anxious and running on little sleep, explaining your history for the fourth time to someone new can feel exhausting. A single Doctor who already knows your history and your last cycle can spot patterns that a rotating cast of providers might miss.

Reviews from patients on his Healthgrades profile point the same way. Reviewers call him warm and honest and say he answers every question without rushing them. Some also praise his staff for being helpful and reachable. Online reviews are personal stories rather than guarantees, and fertility outcomes depend on many factors that no Doctor controls.

Evidence Before Novelty

Add-ons are popular in the fertility industry. New lab techniques and add-on procedures are marketed constantly, and a few of them have real evidence behind them. Many others do not. As a patient, it is hard to tell the difference, especially when you are paying out of pocket and hoping for any edge.

Dr. Mor describes his approach as conservative. In his practice, he adopts new interventions only after they’ve held up in multiple good studies. To stay current, he goes to monthly journal club sessions and educational seminars, and he attends at least two major reproductive medicine conferences every year.

A conservative approach cannot guarantee a better outcome, though it can reduce the chance that a patient pays for an expensive treatment without solid evidence behind it.

Beyond Infertility: Genetic Testing And More

Not everyone who uses IVF has trouble conceiving. Some patients choose it to lower the risk of passing on an inherited condition through preimplantation genetic testing, which is often still called PGD. A few cells are sampled from each embryo and analyzed before transfer, so embryos without a specific genetic variant can be chosen.

Dr. Mor’s listed procedures include PGD, and one patient on his profile describes coming to him for exactly that reason: they carried a hereditary gene mutation and wanted to keep it from their children. Another review comes from a patient who says they froze eggs at age 34 and later used them in an IVF cycle with a partner.

Other procedures on his profile show how wide fertility care can be: assisted hatching, intrauterine insemination, ovulation induction, hysteroscopy, and robotic-assisted surgery. Not everyone needs IVF. Plenty of people start with simpler steps, and a good specialist should tell you honestly which path fits, even when the answer is a less intensive one.

Who Typically Needs IVF?

Blocked fallopian tubes are the classic example, because the egg and sperm cannot meet inside the body. Endometriosis, PCOS that doesn’t respond to milder treatment, and low ovarian reserve also lead many people to IVF. Male factor infertility is another common reason. Some people receive a diagnosis of unexplained infertility, where every test comes back normal and pregnancy still has not happened.

Age plays a large role. Both egg quantity and egg quality decline over time, and the decline speeds up in the late thirties. Waiting isn’t always a mistake, but an early evaluation shows you what your options are.

IVF is also used by same-sex couples and single parents by choice, often together with donor eggs, donor sperm, or a gestational carrier.

Cost, Insurance, And Choosing A Clinic

In the United States, one IVF cycle often costs well into five figures once medications and monitoring are included, and many patients need more than one cycle. Coverage varies enormously by state, employer, and plan. California has been widening its fertility coverage requirements, but what applies to you depends on the kind of plan you have, so call your insurer with specific questions before you start.

Several major carriers appear on Dr. Mor’s public profile, including Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare. Provider networks change, and fertility benefits are often handled separately from regular medical coverage, so treat any online list as a starting point and confirm with both the office and your insurer.

No matter which specialist you consider, it helps to ask these questions:

  • Does the physician hold board certification in reproductive endocrinology and infertility?
  • Will I see the same Doctor throughout, or a rotating team?
  • How does the clinic decide which add-ons to recommend?
  • Will I get a clear breakdown of costs before I commit?
  • Who do I call with an urgent question at 10 p.m.?

It’s also reasonable to check a Doctor’s background. Dr. Mor’s Healthgrades listing shows no malpractice claims, sanctions, or board actions.

What IVF Feels Like Emotionally

IVF is hard on the body, and the emotional load can be just as heavy. Injections, appointments, bills, and uncertainty pile up, and together they can strain even solid relationships. Many people need more than one attempt, which is normal but doesn’t make it easy.

Reviews of Dr. Mor often come back to how he and his staff treated patients. One couple describes a three-year journey with him that ended in a second pregnancy. Another patient describes “graduating” from his office at eleven weeks of pregnancy, already expecting to miss the staff.

Finding The Right Fertility Doctor

Millions of people have become parents with the help of IVF. It is also expensive and emotionally demanding, and the process is complicated enough that the choice of Doctor carries a lot of weight.

Dr. Mor is board certified in two specialties, trained at USC, still teaches there, and describes a practice built on personal involvement and evidence-based choices. For anyone considering IVF in the Los Angeles area, the questions listed above make a useful starting point for a consultation.

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Because every situation is different, please speak with a qualified healthcare provider about your own circumstances.