State coverage
IVF insurance coverage in Colorado
State law requires health plans subject to it to include IVF coverage.
Written and reviewed by the MyBabyBridge editorial team · Last reviewed · 4 sources · General information, not medical advice. Our editorial standards
Category based on RESOLVE and ASRM summaries and the statute, classified by which plans each law reaches, checked 2026-10-02. State law changes; verify against the sources at the foot of this page and your own plan document before relying on it.
What the law says in Colorado
Colorado's Building Families Act requires state-regulated, fully insured large-group plans (employers with more than 100 employees) issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2023 to cover infertility diagnosis and treatment, including IVF. It also requires standard fertility preservation for people whose medical condition or treatment, such as chemotherapy, risks their fertility. Plans must cover 3 completed egg retrievals with unlimited embryo transfers, using single embryo transfer when recommended and medically appropriate; the law sets no dollar cap, but plans may limit coverage to those 3 retrievals. Deductibles, copays, coinsurance, benefit maximums, waiting periods and fertility-drug rules for this care can't differ from those for other covered care. The law's definition of infertility includes a person unable to reproduce on their own or with a partner. Self-insured employer plans and religious employers granted an exclusion are not subject to the law. Individual and small-group plans aren't currently required to cover IVF, because that requirement takes effect for them only if federal regulators find the state wouldn't have to pay for it.
- Which plans it reaches
- fully insured large-group plans (more than 100 employees) only
- Citation
- Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-16-104(23)
The part that catches almost everyone
A state law reaches only the plans it is written for. In Colorado: fully insured large-group plans (more than 100 employees) only. If your plan is not one of those, the law does not apply to it.
State insurance law generally does not reach self-funded private-employer plans, where your employer pays claims from its own money and the carrier only administers them; those plans are governed by the federal ERISA law instead. According to KFF, about 61% of covered workers are in self-funded plans. State and local government employee plans are not ERISA plans, so state law can reach them even when they are self-funded. That is why living in Colorado does not by itself tell you whether you are covered.
One question resolves it: “Is our health plan fully insured or self-funded, is it a private-employer or a government plan, and in which state is the policy issued?” Ask HR or your benefits administrator, and get the answer in writing.
What to confirm, in writing
Call the member services number on your card. Take the representative’s name and a reference number.
- Is the plan fully insured or self-funded, and in which state is the policy issued?
- Is this plan subject to the Colorado fertility insurance law (it reaches: fully insured large-group plans (more than 100 employees) only)?
- Is IVF covered, and what is the lifetime maximum in dollars or cycles?
- Are fertility medications covered, under which benefit, and through which pharmacy?
- Is prior authorization required, for which services, and how long does it take?
- Which clinics are in network, and does the laboratory bill separately?
- Are diagnosis, IUI, freezing, and storage treated differently from IVF?
- What are the eligibility conditions — age, prior attempts, diagnosis, or partner requirements?
If your plan falls outside the mandate
Plenty of people in Colorado discover their plan is not one the law names, or is a self-funded private-employer plan, and therefore outside the state law. That is not the end of the road — it moves the decision from the legislature to your employer, who can choose to cover fertility care and increasingly does.
Common questions
- Does insurance cover IVF in Colorado?
- State law requires health plans subject to it to include IVF coverage. The Colorado law reaches certain plans: fully insured large-group plans (more than 100 employees) only. Self-funded private-employer plans, which are governed by the federal ERISA law, are generally outside state insurance law. Confirm your own plan before assuming either way.
- I live in Colorado but my employer is based elsewhere. Which state's rules apply?
- Usually the state where the group policy is issued, not where you live, which is why colleagues in different states can have identical coverage and neighbours can have none. Ask HR which state your policy is issued in and whether the plan is fully insured or self-funded.
- Does the Colorado law mean my treatment is free?
- No. A mandate sets a floor for what covered plans must include. Deductibles, coinsurance, lifetime maximums, cycle limits, prior authorization, network restrictions, and eligibility conditions all still apply, and medication is frequently handled under a separate pharmacy benefit.
- Is fertility preservation covered in Colorado?
- Colorado is listed as having a fertility preservation requirement, commonly for iatrogenic infertility — where a medically necessary treatment such as chemotherapy is expected to cause infertility. Which plans it reaches can differ from the IVF rules, and conditions vary, so confirm the specifics in the summary above, the sources below, and your own plan document.
Sources
- Infertility insurance law summary for Colorado — ASRM / ReproductiveFacts.org
- Insurance Coverage by State — RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association
- State Insurance Departments — National Association of Insurance Commissioners
- Coverage and Use of Fertility Services in the U.S. — KFF
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