Senate Bill 600 by state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) declares that fertility preservation treatments are a basic healthcare service and required coverage by insurance plans.
Supporters say health plans are already required to cover such services but that some companies have refused to comply, prompting a bill explicitly requiring it.
Joyce Reinecke, executive director of the Alliance for Fertility Preservation, said the new law will give patients the “ability to have children after cancer.”The California Assn. of Health Plans opposed the bill, arguing that it requires new coverage that, despite what bill supporters say, does not exist under current law and would come at a cost to consumers. The association also points out that the bill leaves out a third of Californians in order to save the state money.
“The bill mandates that privately insured patients will gain a broad set of benefits that will increase healthcare costs, but its exemption of Medi-Cal is evidence that this mandate is costly and too broadly defined,” said Mary Ellen Grant, a spokeswoman for the California Assn. of Health Plans. “In addition, the bill includes language stating that it is declaratory of existing law and therefore could require health plans to retroactively cover fertility preservation claims.
SB 600 covers fertility preservation such as sperm banking and egg freezing, which is done before medical treatment that can cause infertility. The bill does not apply to fertility services after a person finds out they are unable to have biological children. A separate bill that would have required fertility treatment to be covered in all cases failed to pass the Legislature.
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