UHC to Cover Fertility Preservation
By Joey Berlin

UnitedHealthcare (UHC) will begin offering coverage for fertility preservation treatments this summer, good news for oncologists and physicians involved in reproductive health care.

UHC announced that effective July 1, certain commercial plans may include coverage for “fertility preservation for medical reasons that caused irreversible infertility such as chemotherapy, radiation treatment, and bilateral oophorectomy due to cancer.” Services that United says may be covered, when provided under a physician’s care or supervision, include:

  • Sperm collection;
  • Sperm cryopreservation;
  • Ovarian stimulation, retrieval of eggs, and fertilization;
  • Oocyte cryopreservation; and
  • Embryo cryopreservation.

UHC says benefits won’t be available for embryo transfer or for long-term storage costs, defined as storage beyond one year.

At TexMed 2021 in May, the Texas Medical Association House of Delegates adopted a resolution calling on TMA to advocate for all payers to pay for fertility preservation therapy “when iatrogenic infertility may be caused directly or indirectly by necessary medical treatments as determined by a licensed physician.”

Last Updated On

May 18, 2021

Originally Published On

May 12, 2021

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