USA: After Class-Action Lawsuit, Aetna Will Equally Cover Fertility Treatment for LGBTQ+ Couples

The insurance giant will pay out $2 million to members affected by its previous policy.

Health insurance company Aetna will now equally cover artificial insemination and other fertility treatments for all customers nationally, as part of a settlement in a lawsuit that alleged discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.

The National Women’s Law Center and the law firm Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP initially filed suit against the insurer in September 2021. The class action lawsuit alleged that Aetna’s definition of infertility led to unequal insurance coverage treatment for LGBTQ+ couples. Heterosexual couples could receive coverage for infertility treatments if they said they were unable to become pregnant after six or 12 months of intercourse. However, LGBTQ+ couples had to pay out of pocket for six or 12 cycles of artificial insemination — which can cost thousands of dollars — before becoming eligible to be covered for additional rounds or for in-vitro fertilization.

More: https://www.them.us/story/aetna-class-action-lawsuit-fertility-ivf-lgbtq-couples