IVF bills die in Georgia as families go broke trying to conceive

This entry is part 47 of 47 in the series Health Care In Crisis

The Center for Reproductive Rights and other advocacy groups are raising awareness this week of legislation impacting infertility care options for families.

In Georgia, the ability to build a family often comes down to what you can afford and whether your insurance covers in vitro fertilization, according to Jorie Dugan with the Human Rights Counsel at Center for Reproductive Rights. A single round of IVF can cost $30,000.

The Center has been involved with IVF advocacy and advancing proactive laws to expand access to IVF, which includes making sure that insurance coverage is nondiscriminatory, equitable, comprehensive and inclusive of all who need IVF such as heterosexual couples who are experiencing infertility, certain health conditions or single individuals and same-sex couples, Dugan said.

“Everyone understands that IVF is a critical method of family building,” she said. “IVF is pro-family, but then when it comes down to actually providing meaningful access to fertility care and IVF, that’s where we see inaction.”

Georgia’s House Bill 588 and HB 589 (private and public insurance mandates) didn’t even get a hearing after being introduced over the state’s past two legislative sessions.

“We’ve seen the benefit in other states where we’ve had the opportunity to make sure that the insurance mandates are inclusive and comprehensive, really ensure that people can build their families and families can flourish,” Dugan said.

Advocates hope lawmakers will soon support IVF legislation that mandates insurance coverage for care.

GPB’s Health Reporting is supported by Georgia Health Initiative

Georgia Health Initiative is a non-partisan, private foundation advancing innovative ideas to help improve the health of Georgians. Learn more at georgiahealthinitiative.org

This story comes to The Georgia Sun through a reporting partnership with GPB a non-profit newsroom focused on reporting in Georgia.