Infertility coverage mandate expanded

The health care cost-control law (Chapter 288 of the Acts of 2010) includes a provision that expands the definition of, and coverage for, infertility. The law redefines fertility to mean the condition of an individual who is unable to conceive or produce conception during a period of 1 year if the female is age 35 or younger, or during a period of 6 months if the female is over the age of 35.

Massachusetts was the first state in the nation in 1987 to enact a mandate to cover fertility treatments and procedures and has the most comprehensive coverage of the 15 states that now mandate it. It covers IVF, IUI, GIFT, ZIFT, and sperm and egg retrieval, but does not include experimental procedures or the cryopreservation of eggs.