The Prince George’s County Council passed a bill Tuesday that would expand fertility healthcare for county employees.
The legislation, which passed 10-0, requires all health insurance companies contracted for county workers in the county to offer plans that cover egg freezing and in vitro fertilization, also known as IVF.
District 2 council member Wanika Fisher, one of the bill’s sponsors, said during Tuesday’s meeting that the legislation came from her “personal story.” As an elected woman, Fisher said, she learned many insurance companies did not cover egg freezing treatment.
“I found it really unconscionable that a county that has so many young women, not only elected, but in government service, in all of our agencies, cannot utilize egg freezing and egg storage, which is quite expensive,” Fisher said.
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Egg freezing is a process where a person’s eggs are extracted, frozen and stored to preserve their fertility, according to UCLA Health. IVF is a procedure where a mature egg is removed from the ovaries, fertilized with sperm in a lab and transferred back into the uterus, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Under the bill, any insurance company hired to provide health coverage for county employees must also include at least one health plan that covers inpatient care at a hospital in Prince George’s County in the company’s insurance plan network. Egg freezing coverage must include storage and proactive care for a minimum of 10 years.
District 7 council member Krystal Oriadha, the council’s vice chair, said on Tuesday the legislation would be especially important for women of color across the county.
“We’ve made leaps and bounds as a council for women in the last two years, and I think this is just another step in that conversation around maternal health,” Oriadha said Tuesday.
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Maryland law mandates health insurers to offer fertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilization and egg freezing.
IVF costs range from $14,000 to $25,000 for one cycle of treatment, David Noto, the county’s legislative budget and policy analyst, said in a health, human services and public safety committee meeting in February.
One cycle of egg freezing can cost $5,000 to $8,000, with storage ranging from $500 to $1,000 per year, according to NBC4 Washington.
Egg freezing is slightly cheaper than in vitro fertilization, but is often considered an elective procedure and is not usually covered by private insurance plans and Medicaid programs, Noto added.
Fisher emphasized the difficulty of balancing career aspirations with family planning due to fertility care’s high costs.
“Paying for egg storage every single month is like another rent for women,” Fisher said during Tuesday’s meeting. “I’m very excited that they’ll still have to pay but at least there’ll be some coverage in our insurance plan.”
