New Jersey program
Preserving fertility before treatment starts
New Jersey requires certain plans to cover fertility preservation before treatment that can cause infertility.
What it is
New Jersey requires certain plans to cover fertility preservation before treatment that can cause infertility.
The oncology team says whether treatment threatens future fertility and what is possible at your child's age. Plans New Jersey regulates cover the procedure but not storage; a plan where the employer pays its own claims is outside the law, so ask HR what it covers.
Eligibility rules
- The mandate applies to specified insurance plans. The hospital counselor and plan can check the issuing state, market, effective or renewal date and exclusions. The covered group-size test concerns more than 50 persons, not 50 employees.
- The group mandate covers policies with more than 50 persons, plus state and school employee plans under separate sections. Self-funded employer plans are excluded.
- The effective date is April 12, 2020.
What you get
- Standard fertility-preservation services on plans covered by the mandate.
- A coverage review before treatment that can cause infertility, including chemotherapy.
What the help covers
- Chemotherapy is expressly named among treatments that can cause infertility.
- The exclusion concerns later storage of sperm or oocytes.
If you decide to apply
- You can ask the oncology team whether fertility preservation is relevant and medically possible before treatment.
- If the team recommends it, ask the plan to confirm coverage and ask the fertility clinic for storage costs.
The plan, on the oncology team's referral · Official page ↗
After you ask
- The oncologist decides whether preservation is possible and when it can fit into treatment.
Good to know
The mandate excludes storage, but a plan may cover more. The counselor can check procedure and storage costs separately.
Other details
- A questionnaire age screen does not establish that preservation is necessary or that treatment has not started.
- Age alone does not decide whether a fertility discussion matters. The oncology team can discuss options before planned treatment and decides clinical timing. This card is not a reason to delay cancer treatment.
Official sources
“Could treatment affect our child's fertility, and is preservation appropriate before it starts? What would insurance cover, what would storage cost, and could you help us explore it if appropriate?”
Why I’m asking: I want the team to explain the options and timing without delaying necessary cancer care.
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 and what the storage will cost, before the appointment.
Your social worker
The oncology team raises it at the right moment and makes the referral.
The care team
The oncologist decides whether preservation is possible and when.
- Who decides
- The plan, applying the mandate.
- Ask the agency
- “Under New Jersey's fertility preservation mandate, please confirm this preservation is covered, and tell me what the storage afterwards will cost.”
How to apply
First step: The social worker can help ask the oncology team whether a fertility discussion is appropriate before planned treatment and help check coverage.
- If the oncology team raises fertility, ask the plan to confirm the preservation is covered before the appointment.
- Ask separately what the storage will cost, because the law does not cover it.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: The oncology team raises it and refers; ask the plan to confirm coverage before the appointment.
What to gather
The diagnosis letter, the child’s insurance card, and the last two pay stubs cover most applications. The official page lists the rest.
How long: It applies to the plan as written; ask for confirmation before the appointment.
What a yes looks like
Written confirmation that the preservation is covered.
What a no looks like, and the next move
The plan says it is self-funded or the group is too small. Ask HR which kind of plan it is.
Watch out
- An exclusion from the required benefit does not establish that storage is never covered. The plan and clinic can confirm procedure and storage coverage, remaining charges and available assistance separately.
- The group rule is more than 50 persons in the group, not 50 employees.
Dates that change this
2020-04-12: The reading is of the original 2019 act as approved in 2020. Later amendments were not checked. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Standard fertility preservation may be covered before treatment that can cause infertility. The plan must confirm applicable mandate terms and separate storage coverage.
- $50 — Group size above which the group mandate applies
Covers: Standard fertility preservation services before treatment that can cause infertility
Legal protection: Chemotherapy is expressly named as a cause of treatment-related infertility
What it costs the family: An exclusion from the required benefit does not establish that storage is never covered. The plan and clinic can confirm procedure and storage coverage, remaining charges and available assistance separately.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Age
- Clinical relevance depends on planned treatment and individual circumstances, not a website age-12 threshold.
- Plan type
- group policies covering more than 50 persons, and the state and school employee plans under their own sections; self-funded employer plans are outside it
- Effective
- April 12, 2020 (calculated from the 90-day delay in the act)
- Exclusions
- storage of sperm or oocytes
The trap: An exclusion from the required benefit does not establish that storage is never covered. The plan and clinic can confirm procedure and storage coverage, remaining charges and available assistance separately.
Where I read this
- STALE: P.L.2019, c.306: standard fertility preservation services — New Jersey Legislature, read September 10, 2026