Two congressional Democrats active in civil service issues have asked OPM to require FEHB/PSHB carriers to expand fertility coverage benefits, saying that “would bring fairness to the Federal workforce; strengthen recruitment and retention; and provide clarity, consistency, and improved IVF access across FEHB.”
A letter from Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is the latest in a series of such requests and comes as the annual process of negotiating coverage terms and premiums with carriers is about to begin.
“Over the past several plan years, OPM’s leadership has helped secure baseline fertility protections across the program and spurred expanded IVF options, including requirements for coverage of artificial insemination and associated drugs and a requirement that all FEHB carriers cover IVF-related drugs for three cycles annually, with a growing number of plans covering IVF services themselves,” they said, calling such benefit enhancements “hard-won by devoted members of Congress and the dedicated federal employees in the FEHB office.”
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