New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has directed state regulators to require health insurers to cover fertility costs for same sex couples.
Previously, if a same sex couple wanted to have children, they would have had to pay for six to 12 months of testing and therapeutic donor insemination costs out-of-pocket before they could even qualify for coverage.
“No New Yorker should be denied the opportunity to become a parent, nor the joys of raising a child, because of their sexual orientation,” Cuomo said in a statement on Thursday. He announced an expansion to his “Women’s Agenda” to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers.
Cuomo said the “law should work for all New Yorkers.”
The New York Health Plan Association, in a response to the proposal, said the move will likely raise the overall cost and use of the services.
The group is concerned that since over 50% of New Yorkers do not have fully-insured policies and pay into self-funded insurance plans, the coverage Cuomo proposes “may not be available to many New Yorkers hoping to access these services.”