Everlasting Hope

Description

The American Medical Association, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the World Health Organization recognize infertility as a disease, which means it should be covered by health insurance like other diseases. 1 in 8 individuals or couples - more than 14,000 North Dakota residents - have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy. Cost is the number one barrier to infertility medical treatment. North Dakota’s insurance law does not cover infertility treatment. A national infertility organization, Resolve, completed a community survey that found 39% of participants used credit cards to pay for their fertility procedures, while 12.6% took out loans and 4% used their home as equity. They also found that women (25-34 years old) accrued $30,000 of debt on average after undergoing infertility treatment. Currently only 16 states have infertility insurance coverage laws, and six states have fertility preservation laws for iatrogenic (medically-induced) infertility. In the state of North Dakota there is no insurance mandate for infertility diagnosis or treatment. Currently, patients bear the responsibility of covering the costs of diagnosis and treatment. Depending on the cause of the fertility problem and the therapy used to treat the problem, that cost can be considerable. A major impediment to access to treatment to resolve infertility is insurance coverage.