To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide fertility treatment under the TRICARE Program.
Sponsors
Sara Jacobs
D-CA | Primary Sponsor
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Jacobs (for herself and Mr. Larsen of Washington) introduced …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The IVF for Military Families Act expands TRICARE health coverage to include fertility treatments for active-duty military service members and their dependents. Currently, military families often pay out-of-pocket for expensive fertility procedures like IVF. This bill would make these treatments a covered benefit under TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Select plans.
Who Benefits and How
Active-duty service members and their families are the primary beneficiaries. They would gain coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF), egg and sperm retrieval, embryo preservation, artificial insemination, and related fertility medications. The bill allows up to three completed egg retrievals and unlimited embryo transfers per patient, following American Society for Reproductive Medicine guidelines. This could save military families tens of thousands of dollars in fertility treatment costs.
Fertility clinics and reproductive medicine providers would see increased patient volume as military families gain insurance coverage for these services, creating new revenue opportunities in this sector.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Defense and TRICARE program will bear the cost of covering these new benefits. The bill does not specify a funding amount, but fertility treatments are expensive (IVF averages $15,000-$20,000 per cycle), so this represents a significant new expenditure for the military healthcare system.
Taxpayers ultimately fund TRICARE, so the expanded coverage will increase overall military healthcare spending.
Key Provisions
- Mandates TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Select coverage for fertility-related care, including infertility diagnosis and treatment
- Covers IVF with a limit of 3 completed egg retrievals but unlimited embryo transfers
- Includes coverage for egg/sperm preservation, artificial insemination, and fertility medications
- Establishes a fertility-related care coordination program within the Defense Department
- Requires the Secretary of Defense to train community healthcare providers on military family needs
- Takes effect October 1, 2027
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
The bill aims to amend Title 10, United States Code, by providing fertility treatment coverage under the TRICARE Program for active-duty members of the uniformed services and their dependents.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Defense
- "the_administrator"
- → None
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A program established to ensure timely fertility care for patients, with a focus on the unique needs of military members and their dependents.
The IVF for Military Families Act
A broad term encompassing various procedures and treatments to facilitate reproduction, as determined by the Secretary of Defense.
A range of treatments and procedures to facilitate reproduction, as determined by the Secretary.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology