Establishes "The Equity in Fertility Treatment Act"; relates to the definition of infertility and health insurance coverage for the treatment of infertility

• Democratic1

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why the sponsor says this is needed

The 2019 enacted budget established a requirement for insurance compa- nies to cover three IVF cycles. The intent was to make the language non-discriminatory for the LGBTQ+ community. However, key groups were inadvertently excluded. While the law affords coverage to couples where one of the partners is using IVF, coverage is unavailable to gay men, as donor cycles, a key element necessary to obtain an egg, are not covered. Coverage is therefore also not available for lesbian couples where neither partner will undergo IVF. The original 2019 legislation intended to cover three completed cycles of IVF where one complete cycle begins with either hormone treatment and retrieval, depending on the needs of the parents, and ends with trans- fer. However, currently, insurance companies have interpreted a complete cycle of IVF to only be one phase of the process. For example, insurers have interpreted retrieval as one completed cycle and transfer as anoth- er completed cycle. As a result, some couples are left to pay out of pocket, even when transferring embryos from a covered cycle, or when additional cycles of IVF are needed, and others must stop their IVF journey entirely as they cannot afford the care. Further, when transfers are not properly covered, it serves as an incentive to transfer too many embryos in one transfer, which is risky and leads to bad medical outcomes for all involved. This legislation will ensure that the 2019 law is implemented as intended by requiring coverage of donor cycles and explicitly stating that coverage will be provided for three full rounds of IVF, each including a completed oocyte retrieval and the process of in-vitro fertilization with unlimited embryo transfers from the covered retrieval. This legislation will ensure that those who wish to become parents through IVF, and have the insurance coverage afforded by the 2019 legislation, are able to do so.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.