The effort is being led by Senators Roger Marshall of Kansas and Cory Booker of New Jersey.
Senator Roger Marshall (R., Kan.) and Senator Cory Booker (D., N.J.) plan to introduce a bill that would force health insurers to cover in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures and other infertility treatments.
A draft of the bill, which was obtained by National Review and has yet to be introduced, is known as the “Helping to Optimize Patients’ Experience with Fertility Services Act” or “HOPE with Fertility Services Act.” The bill would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 to include a provision mandating that any group-insurance provider that covers obstetric care would necessarily include coverage for infertility treatments.
In order to qualify as infertile under the bill’s definitions, individuals must have been unable to conceive after twelve consecutive months and must have exhausted typical clinical-treatment regimens. Patients with health conditions and associated treatments that threaten future fertility, such as cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and radiation, would also be included as eligible to receive fertility treatments under this definition. A third definition of infertility covers individuals who are unable to conceive “based on medical and reproductive history” and/or “age.”
Under the bill, insurers would be required to cover: egg-, sperm-, and embryo-freezing, egg and embryo donation, IVF, genetic screening and diagnosis, and intrauterine insemination (IUI), among other treatments.
This bipartisan legislation comes as the pro-life movement has struggled to find its footing on how IVF policies fit into a pro-life agenda. A recent ruling by the Alabama supreme court nearly banned IVF treatments state-wide, after a controversial ruling found that destroyed embryos had claim to fetal personhood.
Republican Senator Marshall, an OBGYN, was quoted in a recent Politico article saying, “I don’t see any need to regulate it at the federal level,” referring to IVF.
The effort to mandate fertility coverage for patients with conditions like cancer that threaten future fertility is unlikely to draw many objections, but the bill’s reference to age-induced infertility may give some conservatives pause, as it could mean that older couples or individuals would be able to ensure fertility coverage, past the normal age of reproduction. The bill is unclear on the limits to these definitions, leaving wide eligibility under the current structure.
The average cost per IVF cycle ranges, but can reach into the tens of thousands, which could raise premiums should the legislation pass. Furthermore, IVF has limited efficacy that decreases with age. The bill does not mention a screening process that would help determine eligibility for parenthood other than a definition of infertility, leaving out any evaluation of the individual or couple’s fitness for parenthood.
A source familiar with Marshall’s priorities as it relates to the bill stressed that the legislation is primarily intended to help those who are unable to conceive for medical reasons and emphasized that the bill text has not yet been finalized.
Former president Donald Trump plans to endorse the bill, and Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) has plans to mark up the proposed legislation, according to a source familiar with the matter. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment by press time.