WASHINGTON — When Beth lost the pregnancy she had fought so hard for last year, the devastation was compounded by a thought she couldn’t shake: There goes another $6,000.
Despite living in Massachusetts, a state that mandates insurance coverage for fertility treatments, the in vitro fertilization Beth had undertaken was not covered by her insurance because her employer — the US government — is exempt from the state law. So as she grieved for the baby she had so desperately wanted, she also had to grapple with the stinging reality that if she wanted to try again, it would cost her again.
Despite Democrats’ campaign pledges to protect IVF, the Biden administration has yet to mandate that federal employees get full coverage for their own families’ fertility needs. Now, workers are pushing the administration to go farther, arguing the financial toll is an unnecessary burden in an already difficult situation.
