Does BSBS cover IVF?

[Anonymous]

How do I know if my BCBS plan covers IVF?

[Anonymous]

The federal plan under BCBS does not.

[Anonymous]

Only if your employer is in Maryland. Otherwise, no.

[Anonymous]

It varies state-by-state. I live in DC but my employer is based in Illinois, so my BCBS plan did cover it, but only because I have BCBS Illinois, not just because it was BCBS generally. There are only a few states that mandate coverage for IVF - outside of those states, it is unlikely that your employer's plan will cover it.

When I went through this, I logged into my online account and looked through the benefits booklet to confirm it was covered. For my Illinois plan, I think it covered something like 4 rounds of IVF, plus an additional 2 rounds for a second baby if you were successful in one of your first 4 rounds. After seeing that in the benefits booklet, I then called BCBS to confirm I was interpreting it correctly. The rep I talked to said they thought I was, but recommended I talk to my employer's HR dept to confirm, which I did.

[Anonymous]

BCBS coverage for IVF is terrible, even in states with mandates. They will find any reason to deny coverage. The actual subset of cases they will cover is quite small. If I were you, I would run far far away from BCBS.

Also, be aware that there are lots of loopholes in state mandates, in order to give power to insurance companies to deny coverage. So much of it is a scam, a cover to make it look like they're doing the right thing.