Rhode Island enacts law requiring private insurers to cover fertility preservation

Rhode Island adopted a new law that requires private insurers to cover fertility preservation for patients who undergo medical treatments that often result in infertility, according to the Providence Journal.

The law requires insurers to pay for the preservation services when a medical treatment is deemed necessary and directly or indirectly results in infertility. Insurers can cap the coverage at $100,000.

The legislation aims to help patients pay for fertility preservation if they are receiving medical procedures that cause infertility, such as chemotherapy or gender reconstruction.

"There are options currently available to preserve the fertility of these patients," Eden Cardozo, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist at the Women & Infants' Fertility Center in Providence, R.I., told the Providence Journal, "but the unfortunate reality is that without insurance coverage, most patients can't afford to see a reproductive specialist for these services."

According to the Livestrong Foundation, fertility preservation services often cost more than $10,000 for women and $1,000 for men.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island began covering fertility preservation last year. Other insurers in the state said it is unclear how the new state law would be applied, but they are in the process of determining how to incorporate the changes into their insurance plans.  

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