Louisiana lawmakers kill an insurance mandate to cover fertility preservation
A powerful Louisiana Senate committee scuttled a proposal that would have required insurance companies to cover fertility preservation procedures for cancer patients about to undergo radiation, chemotherapy and other treatments that will render them sterile.
The Louisiana Senate Finance Committee last week deemed House Bill 537 too expensive for the state, which would have had to pay for state workers and public school teachers to receive the coverage. Louisiana would also have had to cover additional costs to private health plans purchased on the state insurance exchange.
Many Louisiana health insurance plans don’t currently cover the extraction of eggs and sperm from people who have to undergo medical treatment that will result in infertility. This includes cancer patients, who are forced to pay out of pocket in order to preserve their chances to have children.
The failed legislation, sponsored by Rep. Paula Davis, R-Baton Rouge, was intended to close that coverage gap for new health plans in 2023 and existing health plans in 2024.
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Davis had whittled down her proposal significantly over the last few weeks in the hopes of getting at least one narrow group of fertility services covered by insurance. An earlier version would have mandated coverage of a wider swath of infertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization, for married couples who are not in same-sex relationships.
Davis’ initial bill was based on a similar law in Texas, which requires private insurance plans to pay for in vitro fertilization in some cases. Arkansas also requires health care plans to cover portions of those treatments, according to proponents of the proposal.
Lawmakers are actually among the relatively few people in Louisiana that have some fertility treatment covered by their insurance plan. LSU First – which provides health care coverage to LSU employees, legislators and legislative staff – is the only state government-provided plan that voluntarily pays for infertility services. A few private insurance companies in the state also cover it on a voluntary basis, though not some of the larger providers.
With her broader proposal, Davis ran into opposition from insurance companies, Catholic bishops and Louisiana Right to Life, a leading anti-abortion organization. Insurance companies said providing in vitro fertilization coverage would be too expensive and drive up premiums by a few hundred dollars.
Catholic bishops and Louisiana Right to Life have a moral objection to in vitro fertilization, which often leads to the destruction of embryos. Ben Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life, said his organization considers embryos akin to human life, which makes their disposal problematic.
A handful of legislators were enraged by the opposition of the Catholic Church and anti-abortion advocates. House Speaker Pro Tempore Tanner Magee, R-Houma, said the church has always been willing to accept his tuition check for his triplet daughters to attend Catholic…
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