June is Men’s Health Month and the ideal time to spotlight health challenges that men face. The top health conditions affecting men are heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases, and stroke. Many men also face infertility, a growing, but under-discussed challenge among men.
Of the 1 in 6 couples struggling to conceive today, 30-50% of their issues are attributed to male-factor infertility*. Along with age, sperm health is impacted by diet, chemicals found in the environment, and other lifestyle factors. All of these conditions may be reversible with early intervention, such as sperm analysis and preservation. And, in particular, cancer poses unique challenges as men undergoing treatment will likely experience a loss of fertility.
EmblemHealth has created a new arrangement beginning July 15, 2022 with Legacy – a Harvard-backed, digital fertility management service helping men test, improve, and freeze their sperm-from home. This arrangement complies with the changes to the Infertility Mandate of 2019 that the State of New York passed for the IVF and Fertility Preservation Law, updated Jan. 1, 2020.
The EmblemHealth/Legacy arrangement aligns with our ongoing efforts to improve services to the communities we serve that have unique health challenges. Legacy’s goal is to preserve fertility in men to secure their future options.
You may notice Legacy’s advertisements around the city on subways and buses. Learn more at Legacy.
*Male infertility as a window to health. Jeremy T. Choy, M.D., Michael L. Eisenberg, M.D.