ASRM Hosts Briefing on New Fertility Benefits for Members of Congress and Congressional Staff

November 14, 2024
For immediate release

Washington, DC—Yesterday, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill to raise awareness for new fertility benefits available to Members of Congress and Congressional staff. The briefing was timed to coincide with Open Season and new fertility coverage that will be accessible in the 2025 Plan Year.

The briefing, which included participation from nearly 100 House and Senate staffers, featured educational presentations on fertility treatments and new benefits from ASRM Chief Advocacy and Policy Officer Sean Tipton and Director of the ASRM Center for Policy and Leadership Becca O’Connor. As a result of close coordination with the DC Council, the event also included keynote remarks from Rebecca Cooper, Health Policy Advisor for DC Councilmember Christina Henderson, the lead sponsor of the Expanding Access to Fertility Treatment Amendment Act and Chairperson of the DC Council Committee on Health.

The Expanding Access to Fertility Treatment Amendment Act, which ASRM supported and that passed the DC Council in June 2023, is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2025. Members of Congress and personal office staff based both in Washington, DC, and in district offices across the country who obtain health insurance through the DC Exchange will now have access to plans that include mandated coverage for diagnosis and treatment of infertility, including in vitro fertilization (IVF) and standard fertility preservation services.

Additionally, Congressional committee staff who access health benefits under the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program will have more choice this year to select a plan that includes robust fertility coverage. While OPM continues to mandate that all FEHB plans cover artificial insemination, as well as drugs for artificial insemination and the medication component for three IVF cycles annually, several FEHB carriers are voluntarily offering coverage above the OPM mandate. For Plan Year 2025, 25 FEHB plans – including two nationally available plans and seven new plans this year – will offer a total of 45 plan options that cover both IVF medical services and IVF drugs.

Beyond educating Congressional staff about their benefits, ASRM leveraged this unique opportunity to build support for legislative efforts to protect and expand access to IVF. Working closely with champions in Congress, ASRM coordinated a panel to highlight disparities between the fertility coverage available to Members of Congress and Congressional staff and the constituents they serve. Speakers included Barb Collura, President/CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association; Ryan Rosso, Analyst in Health Care Financing for the Congressional Research Service (CRS); Collin Davenport, Legislative Director for Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11), Ana Bradic, Legislative Correspondent for Congressman Connolly; and Stephanie DeLuca, Healthcare and Disability Policy Advisor for Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).

The panel discussed active legislation to mandate insurance coverage of fertility treatment, including S. 1262/H.R. 2828, the Family Building FEHB Fairness Act, H.R. 8821, the HOPE with Fertility Services Act, and provisions in H.R. 8070/S. 4368, the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to establish TRICARE coverage of IVF for military families. ASRM will continue to engage on these bills in the lame duck and the 119th Congress, in addition to working with both the outgoing and the incoming administrations to advocate for administrative action to achieve parity across mandated fertility coverage.

In its effort to serve as a resource to federal legislators, ASRM is following up with briefing attendees and Congressional offices more broadly with additional resources from the DC Exchange and OPM related to open enrollment, as well as its own educational materials tailored for policymakers. Considering the overwhelmingly positive response to this briefing, as well as ASRM’s leadership to proactively provide information on fertility benefits and ongoing policy discussions related to access to fertility treatment, ASRM is considering sponsoring this briefing in the future as an annual event.