Does Sanford Health Plan cover IVF?
What Sanford Health Plan (the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa) publishes about covering IVF and other fertility treatment, in its own words, with the document each statement is in.
- Documents read · checked 21 h ago
No, on the plans we could read. Sanford Health Plan's 2027 individual and small group certificates for South and North Dakota and Minnesota, and its 2026 Iowa small group certificate, cover testing to diagnose infertility but list treating it, IVF and artificial insemination included, among the general exclusions, and exclude infertility medication. No large group certificate is public, and self-funded employer plans set their own benefits.
What Sanford Health Plan's certificates say
Read on Oct 26, 2026. The words in quotation marks are the source's own.
Not on its individual or small group plans
“4.1 GENERAL MEDICAL EXCLUSIONS”
“This section describes services that are subject to limitations or NOT covered under this Contract. The Plan is not responsible for payment of non-covered or excluded benefits.”
“Treatment of infertility including artificial means of conception such as: artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization, ovum or embryo placement or transfer, or gamete intra-fallopian tube transfer”
Testing is covered
Testing to diagnose infertility is covered, with some limits, such as two semen analyses a year.
“SHP covers testing for the diagnosis of infertility.”
“Semen Analysis (limit of 2 per calendar year)”
Fertility drugs
Medication used to treat infertility is a general pharmacy exclusion.
“4.2 GENERAL PHARMACY EXCLUSIONS”
“Medication used to treat infertility”
The same in every state read
The 2027 South Dakota small group certificate and the North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa certificates carry the same exclusion.
“Treatment of infertility including artificial means of conception such as: artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization, ovum or embryo placement or transfer, or gamete intra-fallopian tube transfer”
Self-funded employer plans
Sanford Health Plan also administers self-funded employer plans, whose design is the employer's; its prior authorization list says a service must be available under your plan to be covered.
“Sanford Employee Group Health A network that serves the employees of Sanford, a self-funded employer client of Sanford Health Plan.”
“This list does not guarantee eligibility or coverage; services must be medically necessary and available under your plan.”
Surrogacy
Expenses related to surrogate parenting are excluded unless the surrogate is a covered member seeking otherwise covered services.
“Any expenses related to surrogate parenting, except if Surrogate is a covered Member under this Certificate of Coverage and seeking otherwise Covered Services”
Whether your Sanford Health Plan plan covers IVF
The Sanford Health Plan policy says how it pays for IVF when a plan includes it. Three things decide whether yours does.
- 1.Your employer's choice
Most people with Sanford Health Plan coverage get it through work, and the employer picks the benefits. About 50% of employers with 500 or more workers now cover IVF.
- 2.Your plan type
A fully-insured plan follows the law of the state it is issued in. A self-funded plan, which 67% of covered US workers have, does not: it covers whatever the employer chose.
- 3.Your state's law
Some states require fully-insured plans to cover IVF, some require insurers only to offer it, and most require nothing. Your state's line is below.
What specific employers publish about their fertility benefits, including which insurer or benefit company runs them: companies that cover IVF.
Does Sanford Health Plan cover IVF in your state?
Each state's insurance law applied to a Sanford Health Plan plan issued there. A state law reaches plans issued in that state, usually your employer's state, not where the clinic is.
Sanford Health Plan in Iowa
Not because of state law: Iowa has no law requiring private plans to cover IVF, so IVF under a Sanford Health Plan plan there depends entirely on what the employer chose (or, for a plan you buy yourself, on the plan's own terms). Iowa law and clinics
Sanford Health Plan in Minnesota
Not because of state law: Minnesota has no law requiring private plans to cover IVF, so IVF under a Sanford Health Plan plan there depends entirely on what the employer chose (or, for a plan you buy yourself, on the plan's own terms). Minnesota law and clinics
Sanford Health Plan in Nebraska
Not because of state law: Nebraska has no law requiring private plans to cover IVF, so IVF under a Sanford Health Plan plan there depends entirely on what the employer chose (or, for a plan you buy yourself, on the plan's own terms). Nebraska law and clinics
Sanford Health Plan in North Dakota
Not because of state law: North Dakota has no law requiring private plans to cover IVF, so IVF under a Sanford Health Plan plan there depends entirely on what the employer chose (or, for a plan you buy yourself, on the plan's own terms). North Dakota law and clinics
Sanford Health Plan in South Dakota
Not because of state law: South Dakota has no law requiring private plans to cover IVF, so IVF under a Sanford Health Plan plan there depends entirely on what the employer chose (or, for a plan you buy yourself, on the plan's own terms). South Dakota law and clinics
State laws as summarized by RESOLVE Insurance Coverage by State, read Oct 1, 2026.
How to see what your Sanford Health Plan plan covers
A policy or program page is a summary. Your own plan's documents are what it pays by.
- 1Find your plan's certificate of coverage on Sanford Health Plan's summary of benefits finder and read its General Medical Exclusions.
- 2On a large or self-funded employer plan, ask HR for the plan's own certificate or plan document: its benefits can differ.
- 3Infertility treatment is on Sanford's prior authorization list, so ask before any treatment whether your plan covers it.
Sanford Health Plan and IVF: common questions
Does Sanford Health Plan cover IVF?
No, on its 2027 individual and small group plans in the Dakotas and Minnesota and its 2026 Iowa small group plan: treating infertility, IVF and artificial insemination included, is a general exclusion. Self-funded employer plans set their own benefits.
Does Sanford Health Plan cover fertility testing?
Yes: testing to diagnose infertility is covered, with limits such as two semen analyses a year.
Does Sanford Health Plan cover fertility drugs?
No, on the plans read: medication used to treat infertility is a general pharmacy exclusion.
- Sanford Health Plan South Dakota Individual Certificate of Coverage (Section 4.1) (Sanford Health Plan, Plan year 2027 (HP-0341 SD Individual COC 1-2027))
- Sanford Health Plan South Dakota Small Group Certificate of Coverage (Section 4.1) (Sanford Health Plan, Plan year 2027 (HP-0340))
- Sanford Health Plan Provider Manual (Provider networks) (Sanford Health Plan)
- Sanford Health Plan Prior Authorization List (Sanford Health Plan, Effective January 1, 2026)