Dear Neighbor,
To mark National Infertility Awareness Week, I had the chance to sit down with patients, doctors, and advocates for a powerful conversation on infertility, IVF, and the barriers to accessing care. You can watch it in full here.
Our discussion could not have come at a more important time. As we all saw in Alabama, patients, aspiring mothers, and doctors are under attack. As we speak, plans are being devised in Congress and in statehouses across the country to further erode your reproductive rights, including your right to start and build a family on your terms.
There is far too much at stake for any of us to stay silent. It’s why I am leading the charge to guarantee IVF coverage for every federal employee, to ensure a statutory right for people to access assisted reproductive technology, and to make clear that doctors can practice reproductive medicine without unreasonable limitations or interference. I will not back down from this fight.
Yesterday, I heard stories from the people closest to this issue. I encourage you to watch our whole conversation, but I want to share just a few quick moments with you here:
“People that are infertile and trying to get treatment are constantly thinking, ‘do I try to shave money off here, on the medicine? How risky is it? Do I have to switch a job because it might have better coverage? Should I change my location?’ People think about the impact of getting pregnant or not getting pregnant. Maybe dealing with emotions about potentially miscarrying. But they don’t realize it has financial implications. It affects where you are going to live. It affects every aspect of your life while you’re going through this.” - Alison Barkan, Patient Advocate
“My biggest takeaway, and my drive for being here, is I think about my little sister and all the women behind me. I don’t want anyone to have the conversations or sit in the seats I’ve had to sit in and be told, 'no, you don’t have this' or 'you don’t qualify for this' or 'this is the right solution for you, but...'” - Sarah Mong, Patient Advocate
“I understand there needs to be some regulations and insurance. But no one wants to go through embryo testing and IVF…We, unfortunately, have to make these decisions, and for anyone to question that is awful and it’s really upsetting…Look at infertility and what this causes. On top of the trauma, it’s the anxiety and the depression. It’s a mental health crisis that we’re in in this country.” - Katelin Buchanan, MA, LPC, Mental Health Professional
“In 2007, my partner and I tried fertility treatments. I went through three natural IUIs, three stimulated, and then we moved to IVF. On the second round of IVF, I had a reaction to the medication and was in the hospital with blood clots so we had to stop altogether…We eventually built our family through private open adoption. Two boys – 14 and 12. I’m obviously happy to have built my family one way or another, but it has been a struggle in a lot of ways for me and my community, in both fertility and in adoption because historically we’ve had to jump through a lot of hoops just to have what everybody else wants.” - Julie Naff, Patient Advocate, National Center for Lesbian Rights
“The pendulum is swinging in the right direction. We are seeing more coverage. But what we need it to be is fair and following some external guideline so that we can say this fits, this doesn’t. I get it. I can’t go get a procedure that’s not indicated just because I think I need it. But infertility is not like that. If you want to have kids, you need treatments.” - Dr. Eric Widra, Shady Grove Fertility, RESOLVE Board Member
“We are seeing more coverage over time, but it is extremely fractured and there is extreme variance, not just from insurance to insurance but from plan to plan…Most patients that have insurance have coverage for fertility evaluation. So we can figure out, most of the time, what the problem is. But, once it comes to treatment, it’s just anything depending on what your insurance is. I’d say about half of insurances, roughly, cover nothing. The other half will cover something, but it’s not always clear what it is.” - Dr. Mark Payson, CCRM Fertility
This issue affects millions, but it is deeply personal. And it should be – the choice to start or build a family should be yours and your family’s alone. That is your right, and I will not stop fighting to defend it.
I want to thank everyone who participated in and made this event possible, particuarly Barb Collura with RESOLVE and Sarah Bogdan with ASRM. As always, my team and I are here to help. If you or a loved one ever need assistance, please don't hesitate to give us a call at (703) 256-3071.
