Does Columbia University cover IVF?

• 2026: officers on Columbia's UnitedHealthcare medical plans: $30,000 is enough for about 1 typical cycle at those prices.
• From January 1, 2027, through Progyny: 2 Smart Cycles is 2 IVF cycles with the embryos frozen plus 2 frozen embryo transfers, or another mix that adds up to 2.

These are cash prices. A plan pays its own negotiated rates, and you still owe its deductible and coinsurance, so treat this as a rough guide. A Smart Cycle is the unit Progyny counts its benefit in: the services, tests and medications for one type of treatment are bundled and given a Smart Cycle value. By Progyny's own examples, one ivf cycle with a fresh embryo transfer uses 3/4, one ivf cycle with the embryos frozen uses 3/4, one frozen embryo transfer uses 1/4, one iui uses 1/4.

Source: Progyny, What is a Smart Cycle?

1. 1.What is the lifetime maximum, and do fertility drugs count toward it or have their own limit?
2. 2.When does coverage start after my hire date, and how many hours a week do I need to keep it?
3. 3.Do I need an infertility diagnosis, or prior authorization, before treatment is covered?
4. 4.Which fertility clinics near me are in network, and what do I pay if mine is not?
5. 5.What are the deductible, the coinsurance and the out-of-pocket maximum on the plan the benefit sits in?
6. 6.Are egg freezing, donor eggs or sperm, genetic testing of embryos and embryo storage covered?

State insurance laws reach only fully-insured plans, and 67% of covered US workers are in self-funded employer plans, which set their own fertility benefits whatever the state requires. About 50% of employers with 500 or more workers now cover IVF. A large employer's plan is usually self-funded (80% of covered workers at large firms are in one), so what Columbia University chooses to cover matters more than your state's IVF insurance law.