Anyone ever sued insurance company over fertility treatments?

[Anonymous]

Seems like most of the insurance companies around here get away with not paying for fertility treatments by saying they only pay for married couples. I am shocked no one has sued them and won. Has anyone ever or does anyone know of a lesbian couple that has sued a major insurance company and gotten them to pay towards fertility? As individuals, it would cost us more to sue than we've paid out of pocket for our treatments.

[Anonymous]

I haven't sued but I fought it hard, with lawyers. Didn't need to get to the point of suing, thankfully, before they caved. This was CareFirst in DC, and just last year.

[Anonymous]

I work for Montgomery County govt which is pretty darn liberal, domestic partner benefits & all. They are a large enough agency that they are considered, "self insured," meaning the company pays its own claims & establishes its own contract w/insurance companies. Well, liberal Montgomery County used MD state's exact verbiage of needing "husbands sperm" in addition to meeting medical criteria. I fought for a year & a half, writing letters & making phone calls to the County Council & to County Exec (Duncan at the time). Yes, wrote about sperm to anyone that would listen. They changed the language, my IVF was fully covered through CareFirst & we have a beautiful DD.


Good luck...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't sued but I fought it hard, with lawyers. Didn't need to get to the point of suing, thankfully, before they caved. This was CareFirst in DC, and just last year.

Above poster. Can I ask where you found your attorney and how bad the fees were? We were told by an attorney we spoke with that it would cost us more to sue than we'd spend on treatments.

[Anonymous]

OP - are you in Virginia, Maryland or DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - are you in Virginia, Maryland or DC?

OP here. We're in Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Above poster. Can I ask where you found your attorney and how bad the fees were? We were told by an attorney we spoke with that it would cost us more to sue than we'd spend on treatments.

The general counsel at my workplace helped me secure pro bono representation from a law firm as the law firm saw it as a civil rights case. Last we were in touch, which is just when CareFirst decided to reverse their decision, the firm was considering continuing to pursue it on a larger level, but I don't know whether they did or not. If you would like, post me your email address and I can try to put you in touch with them.

[Anonymous]

Would it be worth marrying in another state or Canada? I am not sure of the legal issues with one state recognizing a marriage and another not, but it may be cheaper than legal action.

[Anonymous]

This is the PP. I reread my post and it seems a little simplistic and uninformed. I am a lesbian mom in VA, so I can appreciate your issues. My point was that legal battles can be costly and time consuming. Realistically, this may be time that you don't need wasted if you are seeking fertility treatments.
Someone does not need to bring down those rules because they are discriminatory.

[Anonymous]

I encourage all of you facing these kind of discriminatory insurance policies to contact Lambda Legal and the Family Equality Council and let them know. They might or might not be able to help - but they need to be aware this is happening.

Our reproductive rights are a frontier that the anti-gay industry is actively focusing on right now and these policies are reflective of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't sued but I fought it hard, with lawyers. Didn't need to get to the point of suing, thankfully, before they caved. This was CareFirst in DC, and just last year.

That sounds like Carefirst. That seems to be their way of doing business.

Glad you won.

[Anonymous]

It really is their way, and thanks, so am I. The resulting baby is pretty cute and we're glad we got to use the money for, say, his college education fund rather than lining CareFirst's pockets.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone ever heard of a straight couple that had to use donor sperm denied by an insurance company? Many insurance companies have a policy that they won't pay if you use donor sperm. I wonder how strictly they enforce that.

[Anonymous]

In honesty, why should insurance companies pay for fertility treatments unless there is a medical issue?

I am perfectly happy to see a gay or lesbian become a parent, but it shouldn't be at my expense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In honesty, why should insurance companies pay for fertility treatments unless there is a medical issue?

I am perfectly happy to see a gay or lesbian become a parent, but it shouldn't be at my expense.

Yes. I feel the same way about all the straight people who keep popping them out. Why should gay people have to pay for you to have child after child since my insurance is the same rate as a family with 7 or 8 kids would be. I am paying for you to keep breeding and it pisses me off. I shouldn't have to pay for your little snot nosed brats to get well visits just because sperm is free for you and it's an after thought to keep reproducing. Pay for your own expenses and stop ruining our insurance rates.