Reproductive Equity Now Applauds CT Comptroller Scanlon’s Revisions to State Health Plan to Make Fertility Coverage More LGBTQ+ Inclusive
HARTFORD, CT (October 12, 2023) — Reproductive Equity Now Connecticut State Director Liz Gustafson released the following statement today after Comptroller Sean Scanlon announced revisions to the state employee health plan and Partnership Plan to remove discriminatory barriers to family planning and to require the Plan to cover fertility services for LGBTQ+ or single members. The state employee health plan and Partnership Plan covers more than 265,000 state and municipal employees, retirees, and their dependents throughout Connecticut.
“The decision about if, when, or how to become a parent is one of the most important life decisions we make, and everyone should be able to make that choice without barriers – which includes equitable access to fertility care. Today’s announcement from Comptroller Scanlon is a critically important step to eliminate barriers to fertility care for LGBTQ+ families and ensure residents in our state have equitable access to the reproductive health care they need to start or grow their families,” said Liz Gustafson, Reproductive Equity Now Connecticut State Director. “People making pregnancy-related decisions should be met with compassion and be provided with all of the resources they need for each and every option. We are grateful to Comptroller Sean Scanlon, Representative Jeff Currey, Representative Jillian Gilchrest, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, Equality CT, and the Fertility Access Connecticut coalition who have been leading this charge to ensure equitable access to care for every Connecticut family. Now, we must continue our work to ensure all state insurance plans, including HUSKY Health, and private insurance policies adopt inclusive language to expand access to fertility coverage, too.”
Specifically, Comptroller Sean Scanlon modified the Connecticut State and Partnership Medical Benefit Plans Infertility Coverage today to cover fertility services for Plan members who are "unable to achieve a pregnancy as an individual or with a partner because the individual or couple does not have the necessary gametes to achieve a pregnancy."
Reproductive Equity Now is supportive of An Act Promoting Equity in Coverage for Fertility Care, a bill in the Legislature to require private insurance companies to cover fertility care for LGBTQ+ and single individuals, as well as people who receive a medical diagnosis or treatment that can impair fertility. It would also require the state’s Medicaid plan, HUSKY Health, to provide coverage for fertility care for the first time.
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