US Medical Schools Provide Limited Information and Coverage for Fertility Treatment and Preservation.

INTRODUCTION

Female physicians experience high rates of infertility and report barriers to accessing treatment, including lack of health insurance coverage and limited knowledge of available benefits. Given the extended duration of training, medical school may be an optimal time for fertility preservation or treatment. However, whether medical schools provide information or coverage for these services in unclear. This study aimed to assess (1) whether US medical school websites provide information on health insurance coverage for fertility preservation and treatment and (2) whether medical schools offer health insurance coverage for these services.

METHODS

Accredited allopathic and osteopathic medical school websites were reviewed for information on fertility coverage available. Summary-of-benefits documents were examined for coverage of in vitro fertilization (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI), elective oocyte cryopreservation, fertility medications, and infertility evaluation. Chi-squared tests assessed differences by school type, funding source, and geographic region.

RESULTS

Of 108 medical school websites reviewed, 48.2% provided information on elective fertility preservation and 52.7% on IVF coverage. Osteopathic schools more frequently provided information on IVF coverage (48.71% vs 24.51%; P  = .006) and fertility preservation coverage (43.58% vs 22.58%; P  = .014). Only 8.33% of schools offered coverage for IVF or elective fertility preservation. Publicly funded schools more often offered coverage for IUI (23.3% vs 3.57%; P  = .027), fertility medications (23.33 % vs 0%; P   = .005), and infertility evaluation (31.03% vs 3.57%; P   = .006). Schools in the Northeast most frequently offered coverage for these services.

CONCLUSIONS

US medical schools provide limited information and health insurance coverage for fertility preservation and treatment. Publicly funded and Northeastern schools more frequently offer coverage, which may influence prospective students' decisions.