Four years ago, a complicated pregnancy nearly killed me. The doctors at Providence St. Peter Hospital rushed me into emergency surgery and saved my life. But the internal damage was severe. When I woke up from anesthesia, I learned I would be unable to have children without in vitro fertilization.
I was not the only one affected by this. My partner, Michael, an Army veteran with two combat deployments to Iraq, also had his dream of starting a family together ripped away. We are not alone in our agony. A 2023 study by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that infertility affects one in six people globally.
Here in Washington, a single round of IVF can reach $30,000 but that’s not the total cost; it’s just the price of admission and many couples will need more than one attempt to conceive. Insurance companies are not mandated to cover IVF, so most do not.
While most insurance companies cover necessary treatments that restore quality of life, such as breast reconstruction for cancer survivors and wigs for hair loss, infertility is not because fertility treatments are deemed “elective.”
Let that sink in.
One moment I was having a baby, then I woke up from surgery to be told I might never be a mother, period. There is nothing elective about living life as a sterilized woman.
The cost of IVF puts it out of reach for most, and this creates an unconscionable disparity for Washingtonians. The ability to start a family should not be a privilege for just the wealthy or the lucky few whose employers offer fertility benefits. Infertility doesn’t discriminate based on political affiliation, religion, or economic/social status — our current system does.
Washington prides itself on being a reproductive health care pioneer, yet our approach to infertility lags behind 22 states and Washington, D.C. Some lawmakers will claim mandating fertility coverage will make insurance unaffordable for Washingtonians. But that argument crumbles when you look at the states that have already extended coverage for IVF, such as Texas and Arkansas.
These states modernized their system because they know fertility care is both affordable and sustainable. Previously, unfounded fears of financial catastrophe stalled progress in our state. However, data from states that have implemented these policies prove the opposite — fertility coverage can be responsibly integrated into health care systems without causing economic strain.
Because of this financial evidence, opponents of IVF have now become strong supporters. The Trump administration has backed IVF, addressing anti-abortion concerns by recognizing that embryos can be donated to couples who desperately want to become parents.
This legislative session, House Bill 1129, The Washington State Building Families Act, offers the chance to finally modernize our reproductive health care policies. The bill would require health plans to cover diagnosis and treatment of infertility, including two egg retrievals, and prohibit insurers from imposing special restrictions or higher costs compared to other medical care.
Biological clocks do not pause. It’s time for action. Washington lawmakers have allowed insurance companies to dictate what should be covered for Washingtonians rather than the other way around. Future parents in Washington deserve better.
You may not know me, but 1 in 6 means that someone you really care about is also running out of time. I guarantee they think about this every single night.
Call your state representative today and ask them to vote yes on HB 1129.
We are running out of time.
