Minnesotans struggling with infertility and able to earn money to pay for treatment packed into a room at the state Capitol on Wednesday, some with fidgety babies, and offered medical insurance to cover infertility treatment. Supported a bill that would require
With their daughter Isla in their arms, Miraya and Andy Grann spoke about their heartbreaking nine-year journey through infertility treatments and multiple miscarriages. Miraya said she owed tens of thousands of dollars for infertility treatment because her insurance didn’t cover it, and she had to take out a second mortgage on her home.
Their baby, Isla, was finally born three years ago after an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure that the Grans organized and paid for with a fundraiser. The Grans hope to have a second child someday, but “without insurance coverage, that might not be in our future,” Milaya said.
“Please give those suffering from infertility the opportunity to form the families they deserve,” Miraya said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Minnesota would become the 22nd state to require insurance companies to cover the high costs of infertility treatment, if passed by the DFL-controlled Legislature. invoice. The proposal would require insurance companies to cover up to four egg retrievals and unlimited transplants.
Approximately 1 in 8 couples have difficulty conceiving or maintaining a pregnancy.
Several Democrats in the state House and Senate support the proposal, but it has not yet received a public hearing. The bill’s sponsors said they expect it to become a priority.
“We know that people struggle with infertility and we know that there are medical services available to treat it. “Like any other illness, it is an illness for some people, and it is a public and private issue. should be covered by health insurance,” the state government said. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Erin Mae Quaid (DFL Apple Valley);
Lucas Nesse, president and CEO of the Minnesota Health Plans Council, said the Legislature should consider its costs and broader implications for health care affordability before taking up the proposal. Stated. He also said the council believes any obligations on private insurance companies should also apply to the state’s public programs.
“We have worked closely with the Minnesota Department of Commerce to provide clarity as lawmakers consider this proposal, and we will continue to do so,” Nesse said in a statement.
Mae Quaid said she and her wife spent $12,000 on treatment to get pregnant before she became a senator.
Barb Collula, president and CEO of Resolve, a national infertility association, said affordability is the biggest barrier for many couples.
“For many families, the diagnosis of infertility is not the biggest barrier to parenthood; sadly, it is the out-of-pocket costs of its treatment. Lack of insurance coverage is the biggest barrier to treatment,” Korula he said.
While Minnesota and several other large self-insured employers offer infertility benefits, many health plans do not.
A single round of IVF, the most effective treatment for many causes of infertility, can cost as much as $20,000.
Dr. Chandra Shenoy, a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility expert at the Mayo Clinic, says, “Being able to start a family without having to take out infertility insurance depends on your ability to pay. “I witnessed injustice on a daily basis.”
“I have been waiting for years for a bill like this to be introduced to help patients,” Shenoy added.
Most Minnesotans who brought their babies to the Capitol believed their pregnancies were caused by fertility treatments.
Bailey Devetter said she had to travel to New York to find more affordable IVF treatment.
“In fact, the clinic we had in Syracuse cost one-third of the cost of any clinic in Minnesota, including all transportation, work time off, hotels, etc.,” Devetter said. “It was the only way we could support our family.”
State Rep. Jeff Bland, who is introducing the bill in the House, said the bill fits into DFL’s agenda of trying to make life more affordable for Minnesotans. He said the experiences of people like Devetter, one of Bland’s constituents, show why Minnesota needs to pass the bill.
“If we can pass a bill that makes it affordable for every Minnesotan when you look at tolls, costs, transportation costs, all that time and energy goes into it,” Brand said. . “That’s definitely something I’m interested in.”
