A recent public opinions poll has indicated increased support for improved in vitro fertilization (IVF) access.1
Takeaways
- Sixty-seven percent of respondents support mandatory in vitro fertilization (IVF) coverage, signaling increasing public demand for comprehensive fertility care.
- Despite some expansion, millions still lack access to IVF benefits, highlighting ongoing healthcare disparities.
- Service members face hurdles accessing IVF, often due to difficulties proving eligibility of time in service.
- Few insurance plans offer IVF benefits for federal employees, prompting calls for broader policy reforms.
- ASRM's new definitions stress medical intervention for successful pregnancy, aiming to guide equitable treatment access.
Although insurance access has expanded in recent years, there are still millions of individuals in the United States unable to access any level of health insurance. Additionally, many available plans do not include any fertility care or include treatments with less efficacy than IVF.
This indicates a lack of insurance coverage for IVF care among many US patients. Military service members and veterans have limited access to IVF, which is often linked to their time in service. Time in service can be difficult to prove and increase hurdles toward family expansion among service members and veterans.
Federal employees may only receive coverage for IVF from a few available insurance plans. These issues may be mediated by coverage for comprehensive family services such as IVF across all plans.
The CARAVAN survey was conducted by Big Village from April 5 to April 7, 2024. There were 1010 respondents aged 18 years and older included in the sample.
In the survey, 67% of respondents agreed health insurance plans should be required to offer coverage for IVF, with 34% expressing strong support and 32% expressing support. Opposition was reported by 7% of respondents, while 26% expressed neither support nor opposition.
Along with publishing these results, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) has provided updated definitions for infertility.2 The first definition described infertility as being unable to reach successful pregnancy status based on individual medical, sexual, and reproductive history, physical findings, age, and diagnostic testing.
An additional definition described infertility as requiring medical intervention to reach successful pregnancy status, including donor gamete or donor embryo use. This may apply to pregnancy status as an individual or with a partner.
ASRM also stated evaluation should be provided to patients with regular, unprotected intercourse and no known etiology suggesting impaired reproductive ability after 12 months in women aged under 35 years and 6 months in women aged 35 years and older. Additionally, these definitions should not be used to prevent any individual from accessing treatment.
References
- Survey shows strong support for increased access to fertility treatments. American Society for Reproductive Medicine. April 23, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.asrm.org/news-and-events/asrm-news/press-releasesbulletins/survey-shows-strong-support-fertility/?_t_tags=siteid%3a01216f06-3dc9-4ac9-96da-555740dd020c%2clanguage%3aen&_t_hit.id=ASRM_Models_Pages_ContentPage/_64613d7e-b948-449c-bbe6-d41cc1c11211_en&_t_hit.pos=1
- Resource roundup: Infertility. American Society for Reproductive Medicine. April 22, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.asrm.org/news-and-events/asrm-news/latest-news/resource-roundup-infertility/?_t_tags=siteid%3a01216f06-3dc9-4ac9-96da-555740dd020c%2clanguage%3aen&_t_hit.id=ASRM_Models_Pages_BlogPostPage/_70b0c287-140a-4758-92a5-05e69dbdcb05_en&_t_hit.pos=2
