This bill would require insurance companies in Massachusetts to cover In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) procedures that many couples need in order to eliminate the chances of having a child born with a genetic disorder or syndrome.

Below is a link to the bill:
http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00430

Our goal is to gather 100 signatures by the end of February to show enough support for this bill to move it out of the MA State Joint Committe on Financial Services.

This bill would help us, along with hundreds of other families throughout the state, start healthy families.  It would also be a cost savings to both the state and heath insurance companies in the long term.

Currently, insurance companies are required to pay for IVF treatments only for families who have a diagnosis of infertility.  In situations where one or both of the prospective parents have a genetic disorder (such as cystic fibrosis) that they do not want to pass on to their childern, they would have to pay for the IVF process out of pocket.  Each IVF cycle could cost upwards of $20,000 and there is no guarantee that it would work the first time.

The frustrating part of this is that insurance companies are willing to cover the costs of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnostics (PGD), but not the IVF.  The two procedures appropriately go together, and it doesn't make sense to do the PGD procedure without the IVF procedure.  Insurance companies are also willing to cover the costs of an amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) during the early phases of a pregnancy to determine if the fetus has a genetic disorder.  They would also cover the termination of a pregnancy if a genetic disorder is diagnosed, or the treatments necessary for the child born with that disorder throughout their lifetime.  It would be much more cost effective for insurance companies to cover the IVF and PGD procedures so that the chances of the children receiving their parents' genetic disorder is greatly reduced and they are born healthy.

We appreciate your signing of this petition, and also ask that you make a quick phone call to the Chairmen of the Joint Committe on Finance Services saying that you would like a request be made to "Favorably support Senate Bill 430 out of committee".  The Chairmen are:

Chairman Anthony Petruccelli (Senate), Tel:(617) 722-1634

Chairman Michael Costello (House), Tel:(617) 722-2220

Vice Chairman Brian Joyce (Senate) - Sponsor of the bill, Tel: (617) 722-1643

Vice Chairman Carlo Basile (House), Tel: (617) 722-2220

Please join us in showing your support for this bill.  This is a worthy cause and we cannot thank you enough.