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0 IRMS Applauds AMA Decision to Recognize Infertility as a Disease
Last month in Chicago, the American Medical Association (AMA) voted to recognize infertility as a disease in the United States. This is a very promising step towards increasing national healthcare coverage for infertility treatments, and also hopefully a move towards diminishing the stigma surrounding infertility.
This success was spearheaded by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), who began a campaign to pass this resolution six months ago as part of their Access to Care initiative. ASRM’s Chief Advocacy, Policy and Development Officer, Sean Tipton; delegate Dr. Julia Johnson and alternate delegate Dr. Eric Levens were integral in the drafting of the successful resolution.
The AMA’s House of Delegates approved the resolution unanimously, only making minor changes to the text. The newly adopted resolution reads: “Resolved, that our AMA support the World Health Organization’s designation of infertility as a disease state with multiple etiologies requiring a range of interventions to advance fertility treatment and prevention.”
This resolution will likely improve future access to care for many people struggling with infertility in the U.S. Official AMA policy recognizing infertility as a disease will provide incentive for both insurers and employers to offer more coverage and support for infertility patients undergoing treatment. It may also result in less social stigma surrounding infertility treatments.
Moving forward, ASRM hopes to continue improving access to care by researching best practices in reproductive medicine, meeting with insurance company representatives alongside RESOLVE to negotiate infertility coverage for those insured, and exploring ways to lower the cost of IVF treatments.
IRMS applauds this news and the efforts of the American Medical Association to offer more support to patients with infertility. We hope this move will lead to expanded access to care for all those struggling with infertility throughout the country.
We are eager to assist you in building your family: if you are looking for reproductive experts to help you overcome your infertility or simply want more information, get in touch with us by filling out our contact form or calling our office at (973) 322-8286.
