Fertility Care Just Got A Little Easier For LGBTQ+ Couples
Thanks, Connecticut!
This Pride Month, while some states continue to target LGBTQ+ communities, Connecticut is expanding protections and access. It’s now the seventh state to require private insurers to cover fertility care for LGBTQ+ couples and individuals.
What does the law accomplish?
The bill requires private insurers in Connecticut to cover fertility care for LGBTQ+ couples and single individuals.
It uses an LGBTQ+ inclusive definition of infertility to determine eligibility for coverage.
Why does any of this matter?
Many LGBTQ+ people rely on fertility care to build their families. This bill addresses barriers by removing a longstanding inequity in how infertility is defined.
Under previous rules, many LGBTQ+ people had to pay out of pocket for multiple rounds of treatment just to “prove” infertility before qualifying for coverage, putting care out of reach for many families.
This law is an important step toward a future where everyone has access to affordable fertility care, regardless of who they love or how they choose to build their family.
In the words of Karla Torres, Senior Human Rights Counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights: “With this bill, Connecticut is one step closer to making sure everyone can get the affordable fertility care they need to build the families they want.”
Equality is supposed to be one of America’s founding ideals. We haven’t always lived up to it, but states like Connecticut are taking us a little closer. Happy Pride!