Every Massachusetts Family Deserves an Equal Chance at Parenthood
The Issue
# Every Massachusetts Family Deserves an Equal Chance at Parenthood
## Expand IVF Coverage for Medically Eligible MassHealth Families
I never imagined I'd become an advocate.
I thought I'd be busy raising my daughter.
Instead, on January 12, 2026, I held my beautiful baby, Mia, for the last time. She lived just 54 days.
There is no handbook for burying your child.
No words that prepare you for leaving the hospital without them. For packing away clothes they barely had the chance to wear. For celebrating birthdays, holidays, and milestones that now exist only in your imagination.
The grief never leaves you.
But something people don't often talk about is this:
Losing a child doesn't take away your dream of being a parent.
It doesn't erase the love you have to give.
And it doesn't mean the child you lost is being replaced.
No child could ever replace Mia.
She is, and always will be, my daughter.
She is loved every single day.
She is missed every single day.
She is part of my family forever.
After Mia's birth, a medical procedure left IVF as my only opportunity to have another biological child.
When I finally gathered the strength to look toward the future, I discovered another devastating reality.
Because I have MassHealth, the treatment my doctors say I need is largely out of reach.
If I had many forms of private insurance in Massachusetts, IVF could be covered.
My diagnosis wouldn't be different.
My medical need wouldn't be different.
Only my insurance card would be.
That isn't fair.
As I shared my story, messages began pouring in.
A cancer survivor who beat cancer only to discover she couldn't afford the treatment needed to become a mother.
Parents who lost babies but still dreamed of growing their families.
Women living with endometriosis.
Families facing blocked fallopian tubes, severe male-factor infertility, recurrent pregnancy loss, and countless other medical conditions.
The stories were different.
The heartbreak was the same.
Time after time, people told me they weren't asking for special treatment.
They were simply asking for the same opportunity as everyone else.
That's why this petition exists.
Infertility is recognized as a disease by leading medical organizations. For many people, IVF is not optional. It is the only medically appropriate treatment available.
Yet in Massachusetts, access to that treatment can depend more on your insurance than your diagnosis.
A family's ability to build a family should never depend on their income.
It should never depend on the insurance card in their wallet.
It should depend on medical need.
This petition is not asking for unlimited IVF.
It is not asking for unnecessary treatment.
It is asking Massachusetts to provide IVF coverage through MassHealth when a licensed reproductive endocrinologist determines it is medically necessary.
That's it.
The same medical condition should be treated the same way, regardless of whether someone has private insurance or MassHealth.
Healthcare should be equitable.
Hope should be equitable.
Opportunity should be equitable.
This petition is no longer just about me.
It's about every Massachusetts family who has sat in a fertility clinic praying for good news while crying.
Every family forced to choose between overwhelming debt and giving up on their dream of having a child.
Every cancer survivor who fought for their life only to face another impossible battle.
Every parent carrying unimaginable grief while still holding onto hope.
Every person who believes healthcare should be based on medical need—not financial circumstances.
Today, I respectfully ask Governor Maura Healey, the Massachusetts Legislature, MassHealth, and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to:
• Expand MassHealth coverage to include IVF when it is determined to be medically necessary by a licensed reproductive endocrinologist.
• Recognize infertility as the medical condition it is and provide equitable access to evidence-based treatment.
• Eliminate the disparity between private insurance and MassHealth for medically necessary fertility care.
• Give every medically eligible Massachusetts family an equal chance to build the family they dream of.
This is about fairness.
This is about compassion.
This is about giving hope to families who have already endured enough.
If you believe no one should be denied medically necessary fertility treatment simply because they have MassHealth, I ask you to sign this petition.
Share it with your family.
Share it with your friends.
Share it with anyone who believes every family deserves the chance to build the family they dream of.
Together, we can help make Massachusetts a place where hope is determined by medical need—not by the insurance card in your wallet.
Because hope shouldn't have an income requirement.
Because every family matters.
Because every dream matters.
Because every Massachusetts family deserves an equal chance at parenthood.
With hope,
Allie Crane
Founder, MassHealth Families for IVF
77
The Issue
# Every Massachusetts Family Deserves an Equal Chance at Parenthood
## Expand IVF Coverage for Medically Eligible MassHealth Families
I never imagined I'd become an advocate.
I thought I'd be busy raising my daughter.
Instead, on January 12, 2026, I held my beautiful baby, Mia, for the last time. She lived just 54 days.
There is no handbook for burying your child.
No words that prepare you for leaving the hospital without them. For packing away clothes they barely had the chance to wear. For celebrating birthdays, holidays, and milestones that now exist only in your imagination.
The grief never leaves you.
But something people don't often talk about is this:
Losing a child doesn't take away your dream of being a parent.
It doesn't erase the love you have to give.
And it doesn't mean the child you lost is being replaced.
No child could ever replace Mia.
She is, and always will be, my daughter.
She is loved every single day.
She is missed every single day.
She is part of my family forever.
After Mia's birth, a medical procedure left IVF as my only opportunity to have another biological child.
When I finally gathered the strength to look toward the future, I discovered another devastating reality.
Because I have MassHealth, the treatment my doctors say I need is largely out of reach.
If I had many forms of private insurance in Massachusetts, IVF could be covered.
My diagnosis wouldn't be different.
My medical need wouldn't be different.
Only my insurance card would be.
That isn't fair.
As I shared my story, messages began pouring in.
A cancer survivor who beat cancer only to discover she couldn't afford the treatment needed to become a mother.
Parents who lost babies but still dreamed of growing their families.
Women living with endometriosis.
Families facing blocked fallopian tubes, severe male-factor infertility, recurrent pregnancy loss, and countless other medical conditions.
The stories were different.
The heartbreak was the same.
Time after time, people told me they weren't asking for special treatment.
They were simply asking for the same opportunity as everyone else.
That's why this petition exists.
Infertility is recognized as a disease by leading medical organizations. For many people, IVF is not optional. It is the only medically appropriate treatment available.
Yet in Massachusetts, access to that treatment can depend more on your insurance than your diagnosis.
A family's ability to build a family should never depend on their income.
It should never depend on the insurance card in their wallet.
It should depend on medical need.
This petition is not asking for unlimited IVF.
It is not asking for unnecessary treatment.
It is asking Massachusetts to provide IVF coverage through MassHealth when a licensed reproductive endocrinologist determines it is medically necessary.
That's it.
The same medical condition should be treated the same way, regardless of whether someone has private insurance or MassHealth.
Healthcare should be equitable.
Hope should be equitable.
Opportunity should be equitable.
This petition is no longer just about me.
It's about every Massachusetts family who has sat in a fertility clinic praying for good news while crying.
Every family forced to choose between overwhelming debt and giving up on their dream of having a child.
Every cancer survivor who fought for their life only to face another impossible battle.
Every parent carrying unimaginable grief while still holding onto hope.
Every person who believes healthcare should be based on medical need—not financial circumstances.
Today, I respectfully ask Governor Maura Healey, the Massachusetts Legislature, MassHealth, and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to:
• Expand MassHealth coverage to include IVF when it is determined to be medically necessary by a licensed reproductive endocrinologist.
• Recognize infertility as the medical condition it is and provide equitable access to evidence-based treatment.
• Eliminate the disparity between private insurance and MassHealth for medically necessary fertility care.
• Give every medically eligible Massachusetts family an equal chance to build the family they dream of.
This is about fairness.
This is about compassion.
This is about giving hope to families who have already endured enough.
If you believe no one should be denied medically necessary fertility treatment simply because they have MassHealth, I ask you to sign this petition.
Share it with your family.
Share it with your friends.
Share it with anyone who believes every family deserves the chance to build the family they dream of.
Together, we can help make Massachusetts a place where hope is determined by medical need—not by the insurance card in your wallet.
Because hope shouldn't have an income requirement.
Because every family matters.
Because every dream matters.
Because every Massachusetts family deserves an equal chance at parenthood.
With hope,
Allie Crane
Founder, MassHealth Families for IVF
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Petition created on July 15, 2026