When entering into a surrogacy arrangement it is against the law to utilize Medicaid for your benefit. Medicaid is a federal government sponsored program available to assist individuals that live at certain socioeconomic level. This federal assisted program offers medical needs like health insurance to disabled individuals, children and to a single pregnant woman that has little or no income. Utilizing Medicaid to cover the expenses of a gestational surrogate arrangement would be considered insurance fraud. It is not the responsibility of the government to assist intended parents with the cost associated with their surrogate journey. Not only would it be considered insurance fraud, but the individual trying to use it for their financial gain could lose their Medicaid benefits indefinite if they got caught. It’s considered a third degree felony and punishable by jail time.
When a women decides to become a gestational carrier one of the critical points that an agency looks at is that the person is not on any form of government assistance. That they have a solid means of financial support and that they are not just entering into a surrogate arrangement for the benefit of the financial gain. With Medicaid a person qualifies based on many criteria’s like the lack of income. With current surrogate arrangements the compensation paid to the surrogate falls under a gray area of tax law.
The gestational carrier is compensated each month via an attorney head trust account. Being that it an established trust account a 1099 is not issued. When an individual is on any form of government assistance like Medicaid they must report all income whether taxed or not. All money is considered earned income under the Medicaid qualifying laws. Other tax payers should not have to bear the burden of an individual abusing the system.
In some countries there is a stigma that surrogacy is an exploit of women. In the United State that is not the case being that potential surrogate mothers are screened thoroughly via agencies and clinics. This is another reason in the United State no ethical agencies or clinic would ever work with a surrogate that is on Medicaid or any form of public assistance. However; Medicaid is not something that would indefinitely rule you out as a potential surrogate candidate.
Once you’ve established yourself financial you may move forward and apply as a potential surrogate. Intended parents want to work with a surrogate that is emotionally and financially stable. Under no circumstance should Medicaid ever be used to offset the cost of surrogacy.
