AUGUSTA - The Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee voted last Thursday to advance a bill sponsored by Rep. Colleen Madigan, D-Waterville, aimed at requiring health care providers to cover fertility treatment.
LD 1539 would require carriers offering health care plans in Maine to provide coverage for fertility diagnostic care and fertility treatment if the enrollee is already a fertility patient.
Currently, Maine is one of two New England states that doesn't have a law requiring insurance companies to cover costs associated with in-vitro fertilization, which has an average cost of $20,000. According to the National Institutes of Health, about 9% of men and 11% of women of reproductive age in the United States have experienced fertility problems.
"Im glad the committee recognized that fertility care is health care," said Madigan. "This will help people who are thinking of starting families either stay in Maine or move here."
The bill faces further votes in the House and Senate in the coming weeks.
Madigan is serving her third term in the Maine Legislature and represents parts of Waterville and Oakland. She serves on the Legislatures Health and Human Services Committee.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Madigan], c. 812-1111