I thought this info was interesting, so I thought I would pass it on.
Not every state mandates that insurance carriers provide infertility insurance coverage to policyholders. In fact, only 15 states require this, and the types of infertility coverage each state mandates varies widely. For states that don't mandate this coverage, it's important to remember that your insurance company must still provide this coverage to you unless it's specifically excluded in your policy (so be sure to go through your policy thoroughly to make sure you're not missing out on benefits to which you are entitled). Even if infertility treatments ARE specifically excluded, there are still alternatives to getting your treatments paid for, such as appealing the exclusion or asking your employer to use an insurance carrier that provides infertility coverage.
However, if you live in one of the states where it's mandated, you're in luck, because things will be much easier for you in trying to obtain fertility treatments. In these states, as long as your employer has more than 50 employees, infertility insurance coverage MUST be provided. Here are the 15 states that require this coverage:
Arkansas
California
Connecticut
Hawaii
Illinois
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Montana
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Rhode Island
Texas
West Virginia
Of course, each of these states has its own particular definition of what constitutes infertility, as well as exactly how much coverage is required. In order to obtain the coverage you want, you'll need to make yourself very familiar with your policy, so you know exactly how to play your insurance company's game. Even though it will still take some self-education to use the benefits to which you're entitled, though, you're still way ahead of infertile couples in the other 35 states that don't require this coverage. Once you've learned the details of your infertility insurance coverage, you can begin to put those benefits to use and finally have the family you've longed for all these years.
So my question is, does anybody know for those of us who live in states that don't mandate it, how to petition that they do?