States’ IVF Laws Get Scrutiny Following Same-Sex Coverage Battles
If a state has a law mandating that insurance companies cover treatments, it often requires the couple to prove infertility. Same-sex couples say that's discriminatory, and a case out of New Jersey may help change that.
U.S. News & World Report:
Same-Sex Infertility Case Exposes Lack Of Access To Reproductive Treatment
A recent lawsuit involving lesbians in New Jersey who are trying to conceive is highlighting how unaffordable infertility treatments can be – and raising deeper questions about who has the right to assistance in conceiving a child. For many Americans, health insurance does not cover fertility treatment; the few for whom it does are usually in heterosexual marriages. But today's modern family is different: same-sex marriage is legal, the government has lifted its ban on taxpayer dollars going toward gender reassignment surgery and single people choose to become parents on their own. But while these people don't fit the description of traditional parents, is it discrimination not to help them have a child? (Leonard, 8/15)
The Associated Press:
New Jersey Proposal Expands Infertility Coverage To Lesbians
A federal lawsuit brought by a New Jersey lesbian couple who want to have a baby may mean insurance coverage for women who currently don't meet the state's definition of infertile. Erin Krupa was denied insurance coverage for infertility treatments essentially because she failed to show she couldn't get pregnant by having sex with a man. New Jersey law for insurance purposes defines infertility as the result of failure to conceive after a certain period of unprotected sex. Krupa's insurer eventually agreed to the coverage, based on her doctor's diagnosis, and she has incurred nearly $25,000 in out-of-pocket medical expenses. (8/13)
In other news, medical boards in Iowa consider conversion therapy policies, and health officials are scrambling to get gay and bisexual men vaccinated during a meningitis outbreak in California —
The Associated Press:
Iowa Medical, Psychology Boards Mull Conversion Therapy Rule
Iowa boards overseeing doctors and psychologists considered Friday whether to adopt a policy that would ban state-licensed professionals from counseling gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender children to change their sexual orientation in a practice known as conversion therapy. The Iowa Board of Psychology on Friday voted to deny a petition that would have prohibited Iowa licensed mental health providers from trying to reverse a patient's sexual orientation, said board spokeswoman Sharon Dozier. She declined to discuss the reasons, saying the board will release its full decision later. (8/12)
Los Angeles Times:
Amid Meningitis Outbreak, Officials Urge Vaccination — But Not For Everyone
Health officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties are racing to vaccinate gay men for meningitis, as a growing outbreak in the region appears to be hitting them particularly hard. Orange County health workers launched evening pop-up clinics at gay bars, night clubs and LGBT centers. At the first one, at the Velvet Lounge in Santa Ana on Saturday, 31 people got a free shot at the bar — against meningitis. (Karlamangla, 8/12)
