SACRAMENTO, California — California will require insurance companies to pay for fertility coverage, opening up treatments like IVF to millions more people.
The new law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Sunday also makes fertility treatment accessible to same-sex couples by removing the requirement for patients to be trying for a year to “naturally” conceive before they qualify — a measure that attracted the support from prominent members of the LGBTQ+ community, including recently the CEO of Grindr.
“As Republicans across the country continue to claw back rights and block access to IVF — all while calling themselves ‘the party of families’ — we are proud to help every Californian make their own choices about the family they want," Newsom said in a statement.
The California law comes after members of Congress have failed twice this year to pass bills protecting IVF access on a national level, and it’s become a topic on the campaign trail ahead of the election. The increased attention on the topic has also renewed pressure on blue states like California to expand access. About fifteen other states also have IVF coverage requirements.
Only people with private insurance the state can regulate will be covered, and there are carveouts for religiously-affiliated employers and a delay for when it will apply to state workers, to keep costs down.
Ultimately, about 9 million people would have access to IVF once the bill is fully implemented. Only around a third of those people currently have IVF coverage, and most will likely see their out-of-pocket costs for the treatment go down.
A report from the California Health Benefits Review Program predicted the bill would raise premiums by over $182 million in the first year (a 0.12 percent bump) and $329 million in the second year (a 0.21 percent increase) once it’s fully implemented. That shakes out to a less than $4 increase in premiums for most people.
In the first year of the bill, CalPERS public pension plan premiums would go up by $32 million and then by $49 million in the second. As the employer, the state covers over half of these costs.
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