DC Council to vote on bill to cover fertility treatments

The D.C.City Council is expected to vote on a bill Tuesday that would require insurance companies to cover fertility treatments.

Council member At-large Christina Henderson is behind this move.

Her bill aims to reduce the barriers that often come with fertility treatments such as cost.

The bill would require private insurers, Medicaid and the D.C. Health Alliance to cover the diagnosis and treatment of infertility.

Henderson, who is chair of the Council’s Health Committee, introduced the Expanding Access to Fertility Treatment Amendment Act of 2023 last year, but it did not get through committee and had to be reintroduced this year.

The reintroduced bill includes changes like the inclusion of a coverage mandate for fertility preservation treatments in the circumstance that someone has to go through treatment like chemotherapy, which may reduce their fertility.

In addition, insurers will be required to cover only three IVF cycles, which include egg retrieval and unlimited embryo transfers will be covered.

Also, there will be coverage for third parties, so those who use a surrogate will have their costs covered.

Henderson says her bill also aims to confront the issue of inequality in fertility treatment because Black and brown women are much less likely to seek treatment even though research suggests they may be more likely to experience infertility.