| Aetna to change fertility benefits packagePosted 1-19-98Aetna Inc., a leading U.S. health insurer, has decided to stop covering advanced fertility treatments unless they are specifically requested and paid for by the employers that contract with the company.As of April 1, Aetna’s employer customers must purchase advanced reproductive technology (ART) services such as in vitro fertilization and gamete intrafallopian transfers at their own discretion. Base coverage for fertility treatment including diagnosis, surgery, and oral therapy will continue unchanged, according to Aetna spokesperson Jill Griffiths.”We decided customers should decide whether to purchase this benefit,” Griffiths said, noting that health plans renewed before April 1 will include ART services as part of the base coverage. After that, employers may purchase ART benefits as an optional rider.More than 6 million Americans have problems with fertility, although a 1995 survey by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that fewer than half of that number opt for advanced fertility treatments. That’s primarily because ART services, while generally effective, cost between $8,000 and $12,000.But the cost of adding advanced fertility treatments to a standard plan is a mere 26 cents per month for each plan member, according to Deborah Wachenheim, government affairs director for Resolve, an advocacy group for those experiencing infertility. “Infertility is a disease,” Wachenheim said. “Safe, effective, and affordable treatment must be available.”Aetna has offered ART services since 1995 and is one of the few health plans in the nation to do so. “The changes in our fertility benefits plan won’t affect anyone immediately,” Griffiths said. “We just don’t want to mandate which services an employer must offer.”Related Site CDC |
