Massachusetts program
Fertility preservation before treatment
Coverage for standard fertility preservation when disease or treatment is likely to affect future fertility.
What it is
Coverage for standard fertility preservation when disease or treatment is likely to affect future fertility.
Some treatment can affect future fertility. The oncology team can explain whether preservation is relevant and feasible for your child. Massachusetts coverage rules include storage as well as the procedure.
Eligibility rules
- Disease or necessary treatment must have a likely side effect of infertility under the relevant professional standards.
- The state mandate covers eligible insurance, hospital service and health maintenance contracts, and state employee coverage.
- Private employers’ self-funded ERISA plans generally are outside these state insurance mandates. GIC and other public-employer plans require a separate check of the statute and plan arrangement.
What you get
- Covered standard preservation procedures, freezing and storage under eligible plans.
What the help covers
- The named services include procurement, cryopreservation and storage of gametes, embryos or other reproductive tissue.
- The law covers collecting, freezing and storing eggs, sperm or tissue, but sets no storage term and does not waive copays. Ask the plan in writing how long storage is covered and what you would pay.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the oncology team whether preservation is relevant to the planned treatment and what timing is possible.
- Have the treatment plan and insurance benefit documents ready.
- Ask the plan in writing what procedures and storage it would cover before deciding with the team.
The plan, under state law · Official page ↗
After you ask
- The oncology team guides referral and timing around cancer treatment. The plan’s written response identifies covered services.
- A refusal on a covered plan can be considered through the applicable appeal route.
Good to know
There is no minimum age in the statute. The oncology team can explain whether the planned treatment could affect future fertility and whether a timely specialist discussion is appropriate before that treatment; necessary cancer care should not be delayed.
Other details
- Age alone does not establish that fertility preservation is irrelevant or can wait. The oncology team guides whether an appropriate option exists and how any discussion fits the treatment schedule.
Official sources
“Could treatment affect our child’s future fertility, and what are the benefits and burdens of preservation in this situation? If it is appropriate, could you help us check coverage and arrange the next conversation?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand the options and their timing with our child’s oncology team.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Ask what is covered once the team raises it.
Your social worker
The oncology team decides whether preservation is possible and when.
The care team
The team raises preservation before treatment likely to affect fertility and makes the referral.
- Who decides
- The plan, under state law.
- Ask the care team
- “If treatment is likely to affect my child’s fertility later, when would you raise preservation, and can we check what our plan covers, including storage?”
How to apply
First step: Ask the oncology team when they would raise preservation, and then ask the plan what it covers.
- Wait for the oncology team to raise it, and then ask the plan what is covered.
- Ask specifically about storage, because Massachusetts names it.
- Ask human resources whether the plan is insured.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: The oncology team raises it. Ask the plan in writing what preservation and storage are covered before anything is scheduled.
What to gather
- The treatment plan
- The plan’s benefit documents
How long: It is scheduled around treatment; the team sets the timing.
What a yes looks like
The procedure and the storage authorised by the plan.
What a no looks like, and the next move
A refusal on an insured plan is worth appealing, and the state external review is the next step.
Watch out
- This is the oncology team’s conversation to start, and it usually comes before intensive treatment rather than in the first week.
- A self-funded employer plan is not reached by these chapters.
- Massachusetts names storage, which many states leave out. Ask about storage specifically.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Insured plans cover standard fertility preservation, including procurement, cryopreservation and storage, when treatment is likely to cause infertility. No storage duration or cost cap was found.
Covers: Procurement, cryopreservation and storage of gametes, embryos or other reproductive tissue
Legal protection: Disease or necessary treatment with a likely side effect of infertility is the qualifying trigger · Written into individual and group hospital service contracts, health maintenance contracts and state employee coverage
What it costs the family: No cap or storage limit was published.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Plan type
- policies, contracts and plans issued, delivered or renewed in Massachusetts, including health maintenance contracts and state employee coverage
- Medical
- a disease or necessary treatment with a likely side effect of infertility, as established by the named professional societies
- Age
- no age appears in the statute; this site raises it from age 12
The trap: This is not a first-week task and not a parent’s job to start. The team raises it when it is clinically relevant; the point here is that an insured plan has to pay when it does.
Where I read this
- M.G.L. c. 175 § 47VV with c. 176A § 8WW, c. 176G § 4OO and c. 32A § 17T — fertility preservation — Massachusetts General Court, read September 10, 2026