Section 17:48E-35.22 - Health service corporation to provide coverage for treatment of infertilitya. A health service corporation contract which provides hospital or medical expense benefits for groups with more than 50 persons, which includes pregnancy-related benefits, shall not be delivered, issued, executed or renewed in this State, or approved for issuance or renewal in this State by the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance on or after the effective date of this act unless the contract provides coverage for persons covered under the contract for medically necessary expenses, as determined by a physician, incurred in the diagnosis and treatment of infertility as provided pursuant to this section. The health service corporation contract shall provide coverage for any services related to infertility in accordance with American Society for Reproductive Medicine guidelines and as determined by a physician, which includes, but is not limited to: diagnosis and diagnostic tests; medications; surgery; intrauterine insemination; in vitro fertilization, including in vitro fertilization using donor eggs and in vitro fertilization where the embryo is transferred to a gestational carrier or surrogate; genetic testing; artificial insemination; intracytoplasmic sperm injection; four completed egg retrievals; unlimited embryo transfers, in accordance with guidelines from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, using single embryo transfer when recommended and deemed medically appropriate by a physician; and medical costs of egg or sperm donors, including office visits, medications, laboratory and radiological procedures, and retrieval, shall be covered until the donor is released from treatment by the reproductive endocrinologist. The health service corporation may provide that coverage for in vitro fertilization shall be limited to a covered person who has used all reasonable, less expensive, and medically appropriate treatments, as determined by a licensed physician, and is still unable to become pregnant or carry a pregnancy to a live birth. Coverage for infertility services provided to partners of persons who have successfully reversed a voluntary sterilization shall not be excluded. A contract shall not impose any restriction concerning the coverage of infertility services based on age. As used in this section:
"Infertility" means a disease, condition, or status characterized by any of the following:
(1) the inability to achieve a successful pregnancy based on a patient's medical, sexual, and reproductive history, age, physical findings, diagnostic testing, or any combination of those factors;(2) the need for medical intervention, including, but not limited to, the use of donor gametes or donor embryos in order to achieve a successful pregnancy either as an individual or with a partner; or(3) in patients having regular, unprotected intercourse and without any known etiology for either partner suggestive of impaired reproductive ability, evaluation should be initiated at 12 months when the female partner is under 35 years of age and at 6 months when the female partner is 35 years of age or older. Nothing in this definition shall be used to deny or delay treatment to any individual, regardless of relationship status or sexual orientation.
"Treatment of infertility" means the recommended treatment plan or prescribed procedures, services, and medications as directed by a licensed physician for fertility as defined in this section.
The benefits shall be provided to the same extent as for other medical conditions under the contract, except that the services provided for in this section shall be performed at facilities that conform to standards established by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine or the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The same copayments, deductibles and benefit limits shall apply to the diagnosis and treatment of infertility pursuant to this section as those applied to other medical or surgical benefits under the contract. Infertility resulting from a voluntary unreversed sterilization procedure may be excluded if the voluntary unreversed sterilization is the sole cause of infertility, provided, however, that coverage for infertility services shall not be excluded if the voluntary sterilization is successfully reversed.
b. A religious employer may request, and a hospital service corporation shall grant, an exclusion under the contract for the coverage required by this section for in vitro fertilization, embryo transfer, artificial insemination, zygote intra fallopian transfer, and intracytoplasmic sperm injection if the required coverage is contrary to the religious employer's bona fide religious tenets. The hospital service corporation that issues a contract containing such an exclusion shall provide written notice thereof to each prospective subscriber or subscriber, which shall appear in not less than 10 point type, in the contract, application and sales brochure. For the purposes of this subsection, "religious employer" means an employer that is a church, convention or association of churches, or any group or entity that is operated, supervised, or controlled by or in connection with a church or a convention or association of churches as defined in 26 U.S.C. s. 3121(w)(3)(A), and that qualifies as a tax-exempt organization under 26 U.S.C. s. 501(c)(3).c. This section shall apply to those health service corporation contracts in which the health service corporation has reserved the right to change the premium.d. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a health service corporation contract which, pursuant to a contract between the health service corporation and the Department of Human Services, provides benefits to persons who are eligible for medical assistance under P.L. 1968, c. 413 (C.30:4D-1 et seq.), the NJ FamilyCare Program established pursuant to P.L. 2005, c. 156 (C.30:4J-8 et al.), or any other program administered by the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the Department of Human Services.e. Nothing in this section shall preclude the health service corporation from performing utilization review, including periodic review of the medical necessity of a particular service, provided all utilization review decisions are consistent with American Society for Reproductive Medicine guidelines.Amended by L. 2023, c. 258, s. 3, eff. 8/1/2024, app. to contracts issued or renewed on or after the effective date.Amended by L. 2017, c. 48,s. 3, eff. 7/30/2017. L. 2001, c. 236, s. 3, eff. 8/31/2001.