Aetna to cover IVF treatments for same-sex couples

"Like many young girls, Mara Berton and June Higginbotham knew from an early age they wanted families and to become mothers. But as lesbians, they were excluded from accessing the same fertility treatment insurance benefits offered to heterosexual peers. Instead, like many other same-sex couples, Berton and Higginbotham, who live in Santa Clara County, had to pay $45,000 out of pocket to conceive while heterosexual colleagues with the same insurance plan had many of those costs covered."

"Last week, in a landmark settlement, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of California Haywood Gilliam, Jr. approved a preliminary agreement for the class action lawsuit requiring Aetna to cover fertility treatments for same-sex couples - like artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization - as it does with heterosexual couples. It is the first case requiring a health insurer to apply this policy nationally across all of its enrollees. An estimated 2.8 million LGBTQ members will benefit, including 91,000 Californians."

A federal judge approved a preliminary settlement requiring Aetna to provide the same fertility treatment coverage to same-sex couples as to heterosexual couples, including artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization. The settlement is the first to require a health insurer to apply such a policy nationwide and will benefit an estimated 2.8 million LGBTQ enrollees, including about 91,000 in California. Aetna will also pay at least $2 million in damages to qualifying California members, who must submit claims by June 29. The settlement follows complaints that lesbian couples faced exclusion and paid tens of thousands out of pocket.

Read at Los Angeles Times