Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act

A bill that would be a life changer and life maker.

Candace: I need to ask you all something. We are probably going to venture go down the swirly overgrown path of “what ifs” for a fleeting moment. You cool with that? If not, just stick with me for a moment.

How different would your life be if insurance covered your treatment or in many of our cases treatment-S? If you could have preserved your future fertility before undergoing cancer treatment? What if you didn’t have to beg, borrow, work as a lady (or gentleman) of the night to afford the medications and treatment for a just CHANCE at parenthood?

What if?

Duh Candace, life would be way less sucky. Less uncertain. Less heartache.

Playing Monday night quarterback is never fun, and it’s painful to reflect back on what our own personal situations would have been like if access to affordable care  was not such an unyielding barrier for treatment of a recognized disease. Yet here we are folks.

There was a bit of buzz on the infertility advocacy scene that there may be a new piece of legislation introduced when we, ever so strategically, would be in DC for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association and ASRM’s Advocacy Day.  What many us didn’t know was there was some serious nail biting and collaborative efforts going on behind the scenes to give this bill life. Senator Cory Booker and Representative Rosa DeLauro were busy crafting and putting the final inky touches on a bill that would/could possibly be a life changer and subsequent life maker for people with diagnosed infertility.

Well, that hustle actually happened. When the bill was announced in front of the hundreds of patients, professionals, and advocates, that morning in DC the sounds that echoed the walls of the Capitol Hill Club reverberated sounds of gasps and tears streaming down the faces of the people who were hanging on to every word of the description of the bill. What it could mean for them if it was passed and more importantly, what it could do for the millions of Americans who will follow in our footsteps of a future infertility diagnosis. This was the big one. The no-one left behind bill.

Want to see me totally geeking out?  A few of us briefly met with Representative Rosa DeLauro. I’m not excited, you’re excited.  Seriously though, I was a bit overly ecstatic when I looked over and she totally photo bombed us after our meeting.  Rocking her blue hair streaks and all.  

Fun fact, she (Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro) promised to dye her hair orange if this bill passes. Another fun fact, we were standing in her office and we took an obligatory group photo, she quickly turned around and said something along the lines of:

“I’ve done what I can. This is now is in your hands. We (Congress) get things done by way of external pressure. Be that pressure.”

SO what is this bill all about?

Chris: Yep, there was a microphone-drop moment on Capitol Hill last week.  Just as we were planting our feet in Washington DC in preparation for RESOLVE’s Advocacy Day, like Candace mentioned two crafty legislators (Senator Cory Booker and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro) were doing their own “planting.”  They heard the voices of so many of us dealing with the disease of infertility and asking WHY this was not mandated for coverage by insurance.  They decided to do something about it and planted a stake in the ground, legislatively speaking.  So, before we go into why this bill is important and how it can improve the lives of millions of Americans (remember 1 in 8 couples deals with fertility issues), here are the “what” and “who” details about the bill.

Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act…

The Bill has a slightly different name in the House and Senate.  Let’s go Senate first.

 

Bill Number: S 2960

Title: A Bill to Require Health Insurance for the Treatment of Infertility

Sponsor: Cory Booker, D-NJ

Co-Sponsors: There were no co-sponsors of this legislation at the time this was written … it just got introduced a few days ago Geesh!   Co-sponsors are exactly what we need though.  See below for how you can help

 

Bill Number: HR 5965

Title: To Require Health Insurance for the Treatment of Infertility

Sponsor: Rosa DeLauro, D-CT03 (3^rd District)

Co-Sponsors: There were no co-sponsors of this legislation at the time this was written … it just got introduced a few days ago Geesh!   Co-sponsors are exactly what we need though. 

 

 

What does this bill do?

What doesn’t it do might be the easier question.  It doesn’t teach people when it is and is not okay to wear skinny jeans or leggings.  No legislation could be that broadly sweeping.  It does answer the prayers of millions of Americans that realize their journey to the family of their dreams will require hardship.  This bill will:

• Require that health plans offered on the group and individual markets, in addition to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, TRICARE, and the VA provide coverage for treatment of infertility. (Jaws on the floor, literally I tripped over someone’s the morning of Advocacy Day when we were first learning about this)
• Ensure that these plans also cover fertility preservation services for individuals who undergo a medically necessary procedure that may cause infertility, such as chemotherapy

Amazing stuff, right!  We deeply admire these legislators’ courage to stand up and bring this piece of legislation forward to expand coverage to those suffering with the disease of infertility.  In this spirit of due diligence though, one could ponder why this was not already covered?  Is it because there is an adverse impact to the insurance market due to what would be new requirements for medical coverage?  Would Anthem go belly-up as a result of having to cover IUI and IVF procedures?

According to a Mercer Health and Benefits White Paper, insurance companies would not incur greater expenses or assume greater risks by offering coverage for fertility treatments. The reason is that patients would be encouraged to pursue less “risky” procedures, such as transfer of multiple embryos during an IVF procedure.  With insurance coverage, these procedures can become affordable enabling patients to undergo additional transfers if the first does not result in a successful pregnancy.  Without insurance coverage, the slightly higher chance of success with multiple embryo transfers (5% greater chance) means that, if this is the only transfer a patient can afford, they will do this riskier procedure to realize their dreams.  This can lead to higher risk pregnancies, such as with multiples.  These costs can grow astronomical and persist for an entire lifetime of a child. 

Want to talk a language every legislator understands, try district economy.  With people spending an exorbitant amount of money on fertility treatments, they can’t spend it at their farmer’s market, on local services, and on locally manufactured goods.  That means money flows out of the district.  With coverage for these treatments, your legislator can feel confident that Aunt Betsy’s local honey and strawberry pies will sell out making her one happy constituent.

How you can help.

It’s easy.  Use the links below to find the bill in both the House and Senate.  What we need is co-sponsors for this piece of legislation and you can check to see if your Senators and Representative are already co-sponsors using GovTrack.  Don’t know who they are … no worries, click on the links below to find them.  If they are already co-sponsors, send them an e-mail thanking them for their support.  Believe me, they receive far more admonishment than appreciation.  If they are not yet sponsors, send them an e-mail, write them a letter, make a very polite and tasteful YouTube video encouraging them to support this legislation. Twitter also seems to get the greater attention of politicians as well… I digress.  You can be a part, an incredibly NECESSARY part, of our democratic process just be doing this.  And, you will literally be the voice for millions of current and future Americans who want nothing more than a family. 

1. Find and Track this Bill: S 2960 and HR 5965  www.govtrack.us
2. Find your Senator:  https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
3. Find your Representative: https://www.house.gov/representatives (you can also type your zip code in the upper right corner of this webpage)
4. Bug the crap out of them, by kindly asking them to co-sponosor this bill, regularly. Bonus points by sharing your personal tie to infertility.
5. Donate to the organization who is on the front line leading the charge for this bill, RESOLVE.

Candace: Since this bill has dropped I have received some fabulous messages and few really awesome emails. Most of which asked the same question: What is the likelihood of this bill being passed?  My response to them and every single one of you is this, how bad do YOU want it passed? Have you ever seen or read the Lorax by Dr. Seuss? 

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

We need a lot of someone’s to care an awful lot and it takes a village of advocates to get something like this passed.  We flipped around the elimination of the Adoption Tax credit which was part of  the tax reform cut and in 2016 – for the 2017/18 fiscal year, we won funding for IVF at the VA for IVF for our wounded vets. It took a lot of bodies, letters, and social media. But we did it and we can most certainly do this.  The point is, the likely hood of this bill passing is in all of our hands. If you want coverage and want to change your fertile future, start today and ask for it.

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