To amend title 5, United States Code, to protect and expand access to fertility treatment under the health insurance program carried out under chapter 89 of that title, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Duckworth (for herself, Mr. Welch, Ms. Warren, Mr. Padilla, …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill requires all health insurance plans offered to federal employees through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program to cover fertility treatments. The coverage must include in vitro fertilization (IVF), egg and sperm freezing, artificial insemination, genetic testing of embryos, fertility medications, and gamete (egg/sperm) donation. The bill takes effect one year after passage.
Who Benefits and How
Federal employees and their dependents who need fertility treatment are the primary beneficiaries - they will have insurance coverage for expensive procedures like IVF that currently cost tens of thousands of dollars out-of-pocket. The fertility treatment industry also benefits significantly: fertility clinics, IVF providers, pharmaceutical companies selling fertility medications, genetic testing laboratories, sperm and egg banks, and cryopreservation facilities will all see increased revenue as federal employees can now use their insurance to pay for these services.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Health insurance companies that provide FEHB plans must expand their coverage to include all fertility treatments, which increases their costs and administrative complexity. The federal government, as the employer, will face higher health insurance premium costs since it shares the cost of FEHB coverage with employees. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will need to coordinate with the Department of Health and Human Services to implement the new requirements and potentially expand the definition of covered services.
Key Provisions
- Mandates coverage of IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies for all FEHB plans
- Requires coverage of egg, sperm, and embryo freezing for future reproductive use
- Includes all forms of artificial insemination (intravaginal, intracervical, and intrauterine)
- Covers genetic testing of embryos and fertility medications (both prescription and over-the-counter)
- Grants the OPM Director authority to expand the definition of covered fertility services in coordination with HHS
- Takes effect one year after the bill becomes law
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
Expand and mandate fertility treatment coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Mandate comprehensive fertility treatment coverage for federal employees by expanding statutory benefits definition"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Federal employees and their dependents seeking fertility treatment
- Fertility clinics and reproductive endocrinologists
- IVF service providers
- Pharmaceutical companies producing fertility medications
- Genetic testing laboratories
- Gamete donation services
Likely Burden Bearers
- Federal employee health insurance carriers (required to cover new services)
- U.S. Treasury (increased federal employee health benefit costs)
- Office of Personnel Management (implementation and coordination requirements)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_director"
- → Director of the Office of Personnel Management
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Includes preservation of oocytes/sperm/embryos, artificial insemination, assisted reproductive technology (IVF), genetic testing of embryos, fertility medications, gamete donation, and other related services as determined by OPM Director in coordination with HHS 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