New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has made a new state-wide mandate on February 11th, making it mandatory for New York health insurers to provide coverage for fertility treatments for LGBTQ couples.

Gov. Cuomo is directing the Department of Financial Services to eliminate extra costs that same-sex couples can accumulate while they seek fertility treatments, including in-vitro fertilization, egg freezing, sperm donations, and more. LGBTQ individuals are sometimes forced to pay six to 12 months of out-of-pocket costs for fertility treatments before qualifying for coverage. Cisgender couples do not face these same barriers.

In a written statement, Cuomo noted that for far too long, same sex couples have been denied coverage for immediate infertility benefits for far too long, forcing them to pay often prohibitive out of pocket costs in order to start a family. "No New Yorker should be denied the opportunity to become a parent, nor the joys of raising a child, because of their sexual orientation, and this change reflects what we as New Yorkers know to be true: that love is what makes a family, that inclusivity is our strength and that the law should work for all New Yorkers."