Minneapolis — This session, the Minnesota Legislature approved new coverage requirements for health insurance plans in an effort to reduce out-of-pocket medical costs.
Provision of abortion, gender reassignment treatment, and the provision of prosthetic limbs and wigs for cancer patients are among the new requirements for the health insurance system. The approved changes will come into effect on January 1.
Here’s what you need to know:
wig
Minnesota law previously required insurance companies to cover wigs for people with alopecia, but former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, who is a cancer survivor, has introduced a bill that would expand coverage to anyone with alopecia for medical reasons, including cancer patients like her.
The price of the wig From a few hundred dollars to $5,000, Despite the benefits, the high cost of the procedure makes it unaffordable for some, and advocates say it can help restore a sense of self while undergoing treatment to alter one’s appearance.
“You might think it’s a small thing like a wig, but it’s not. Wigs are so important and so empowering. They give you a sense of normalcy,” breast cancer survivor Haley Erickson told WCCO.
Compensation is limited to $1,000 per benefit year and is subject to co-payments and deductibles required for similar items under the insurance policy.
“If we put patients first, we would pass this bill to help patients move forward,” Zieddzic said at a committee hearing in March.
abortion
According to the law, abortions, pre-examination and follow-up services must be covered “at no cost, coinsurance, deductible, or other participant cost-sharing that is greater than the cost-sharing applicable to similar services.”
It also limits any limitations on coverage, such as pre-authorizations, referral requirements, restrictions, and delays.
Religious organizations are exempt from offering this coverage if there is an objection, but are required by law to notify employees during the hiring process and to give everyone else already working there at least 30 days’ notice before enrolling in health insurance.
Gender-affirming care
The lawmakers also Codified iInsurance would cover gender reassignment treatment for transgender people if a doctor determines the treatment is medically necessary, and there would be exemptions for religious groups, as there are with the new abortion provisions.
The bill defines gender affirmation care as “all medical, surgical, counseling, and referral services, including telehealth services, that are lawful under the laws of this state that an individual can receive to support and affirm that individual’s gender identity and gender expression.”
Orthotics and prosthetics
By law, insurers must provide coverage for orthotics, prosthetic devices, supplies, and services “at least equal to the coverage provided by federal law.” In some cases, prior approval is required.
More than 28,000 people in Minnesota live with limb loss. Groups so everyone can moveWithout health insurance, out-of-pocket costs could cost a family anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000.
What didn’t go through this year: Fertility treatment
Groups of families struggling with infertility held several rallies at the state Capitol during the session to pressure lawmakers. Insurance coverage for treatments such as in vitro fertilization will be mandatory.
In the end, it never made it across the finish line: House Speaker Melissa Hortman, D-Calif., told reporters in March that a statewide mandate would be too expensive and they couldn’t afford to pass it this session, especially since this is not a budget year in which lawmakers set spending plans for the government and its programs for the next two years.
They will resume the work in the next session.
Bloomington resident Miraya Gran is hopeful the Legislature will revisit the proposal. She told WCCO her family’s future depends on it: Her insurance doesn’t cover IVF, and she and her husband have already spent tens of thousands of dollars and taken out a second mortgage to have their 3-year-old daughter, Isla.
“The financial, emotional and physical toll has been huge on me and my husband,” she said.
Twenty-one other states and Washington, D.C., have passed laws requiring insurance. According to a national infertility treatment organization.
“I just want to make it better for other people because infertility is a disease and it deserves to be treated and that treatment should be covered by insurance,” Gran said.
