In a win for American LGBTIQ+ people using fertility treatment, Aetna (the insurance arm of CVS Heath Corp.) has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discrimination against LGBTIQ+ customers.
New York Couple Emma Goidel and Ilana Caplan brought the case after spending more than 50,000 USD on fertility treatments to conceive a second child, following Aetna’s rejection of coverage requests.
Aetna required the couple to pay several thousand dollars for cycles of artificial insemination before covering fertility treatments, a requirement not imposed on heterosexual couples.
The lawsuit noted that heterosexual individuals under the same policy had to attest to no pregnancy after several months of unprotected sex.
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Aetna has agreed to make coverage of artificial insemination standard for all customers nationwide and ensure patients have access to more expensive in vitro fertilization processes, as attested by the National Women’s Law Center who represented Goidel and Caplan.
After beginning the proceedings in 2021, Goidel said she was ‘thrilled’ with the result. “You never know when you start trying to conceive, and you have to do it at the doctor, how long it’s going to take and how much it’s going to cost”.
Additionally the insurer will set aside a $2 million fund to reimburse those people who were denied reimbursement for artificial insemination. Goidel states that she expects reimbursement for herself and Caplan.
Sources: Associated Press, Metro Philadelphia, NBC News
