On June 25, 2024, a bipartisan group of Representatives introduced a bill to the United States House of Representatives proposing that the Helping to Optimize Patients’ Experience (HOPE) with Fertility Services Act (the “Act”) be passed.
In this issue of KingSpry’s heARTbeat blog, Adoption and ART Practice Chair, Dorota Gasienica-Kozak, Esq., outlines the proposed bill’s key points and emphasizes the importance of expanding private health insurance coverage to include fertility services for men and women.
Key Points
If passed, the Act will ensure that discrimination against those who need medical care related to building their families comes to end. To achieve this goal, the Act will require private health insurance plans to cover in vitro fertilization (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI), and fertility preservation services for individuals facing iatrogenic infertility.
More specifically, the Act will amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to ensure the following causes of infertility are covered by private insurance plans:
- Infertility due to a diagnosed disease or physical ailment that prevents the bringing of a child to full-term live birth;
- Unexplained infertility; and
- Infertility or anticipated infertility due to a course of treatment for another ailment.
The Act’s proposal signifies another attempt by the U.S. House of Representatives to expand access to infertility services for individuals across the nation.
The Act “will ensure anyone struggling with infertility can start or expand their family,” said Representative Zach Nunn (IA-03).
Bipartisan Support
The Act is co-led by U.S. Representatives Lori Chavez-Deremer (OR-05), Debbie Wasserman Shultz (FL-25), and Susan Wild (PA-07).
Since the Act’s proposal, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association have publicly announced their support.
“Infertility is a disease that impacts millions of Americans – and one that crosses all gender, racial, religious, or socioeconomic lines… This bipartisan legislation to expand access to infertility treatments through private insurance plans will give hope to and remove worry for women who struggle with infertility,” said Representative Chavez-Deremer.
Individuals interested in supporting the Act should contact their state and local representatives for more information.
