No Discrimination Against Women in Insurance Coverage
It is lawful if an employer denies health insurance coverage for fertility treatments that can only be performed on women. This is the ruling of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a recent suit filed by a New York fertility patient who felt that her insurance violated her civil rights against discrimination “because of sex” to include pregnancy and “related conditions”.
Her health plan allowed benefits for a number of fertility procedures, but specifically excluded fertility treatments of artificial insemination and In-Vitro Fertilization that are performed on women. Her law suit was rejected after the judge found that the exclusions of those procedures affect males and females equally and the plan provides equal coverage for men and women equally.
“Good coverage for fertility treatments is hard to find,” comments Myrna Helmi, the insurance specialist at SDFC. “Patients depend on their employer’s investment and it seems that the bigger the company, the better the health coverage.” Big companies such as Qualcomm and Pfizer have good insurance companies like Cigna and United Health Care that cover more than the average health insurance. Blue Shield Blue Cross of Massachusetts covers IUI, IVF and Egg Donation, thus making it one of the most desirable insurance plans for fertility patients in the U.S.
