PRO
Infertility
Lobby
Case Study:
RESOLVE
Although the judicial branch is not formally involved in the formulation of medical policy, recent decisions by high court and lower branches provide legal support for the coverage of infertility services. These rulings give credibility to the insurance reform lobby and may bolster the views of medical ethicists who support insurance coverage on the basis of equal access to treatment.
Infertility
specific healthcare represents a very nominal proportion of insurance plans'
total health care costs. Research demonstrates that for health plans
offering infertility services, infertility-specific costs account for as
little as one percent of total health care costs. Infertility coverage
can be obtained at a minimal cost to the health plan as well as to the
consumer, ranging from $0.33 to $0.86 per member per month in increased
premiums. Most infertile couples receive low cost, conventional services,
such as drugs used to treat ovulatory disorders. Research findings
show that 50 percent of infertile couples seek treatment, while only ten
percent will undergo an assisted reproduction cycle.
Studies also
show that even when treatment utilization rates and the maximum benefit
per member are increased, no significant increase in the cost of infertility
care or total health care is documented. What increases in maximum
benefit per member and utilization rates do accomplish, however, are more
individuals receiving treatment independent of their income levels.
This is an essential point because although infertility is equally distributed
among the population, income is not. Currently, only couples who
can afford high out-of-pocket expenses, unless they are residents in a
state with mandated coverage, are receiving services. More infertile
couples will certainly pursue treatment if all insurance plans cover infertility;
yet, the cost of increased consumer utilization will be curbed by provider
arrangements and capitation agreements between infertility clinics and
HMOs, as demonstrated by Massachusetts data, where access to infertility
services has been mandated since 1989.
Health Care Providers
Some providers of fertility services argue that without insurance coverage of infertility treatment, the quality of care goes down. Reproductive endocrinologists, who are most closely involved with the medical aspects of treatment, may feel constrained by economic limits which compromise their abilities to treat patients. Infertile women with a limited amount to spend on fertility services will place pressure on the physician to ensure success (pregnancy) in the shortest time possible, therefore minimizing costs. However, quick success does not necessarily ensure the highest overall health benefits for mother and baby.
Physicians may implant high numbers of embryos into the uterus with each treatment cycle in an attempt to maximize success rates. This practice drives up the incidence of multiple gestation, which is both financially costly and medically risky. The hospital expense of delivering triplets is ten times that of a single birth, and twins and triplets have significantly higher risks of congenital anomalies and serious disabling conditions such as cerebral palsy and mental retardation. Insurance companies, who deny coverage for infertility treatment, are instead responsible for the significantly higher costs of long-term care for chronically ill infants.
Doctors who choose not to implant high numbers of embryos are inadvertently punished by the current policies regarding infertility treatment coverage. Although clinics that implant fewer embryos may have better overall outcomes in terms of health, "success" rates may be lower. Because many infertile couples use statistical comparisons of pregnancy rates to choose a care provider, the more cautious and conscientious infertility clinics receive fewer patients than their less careful competitors. For this reason, many health care providers feel that an insurance mandate would raise the overall quality of reproductive care. However, not all members of the medical community support mandatory coverage (see below).
Medical Ethicists
While certainly
not unanimous, many medical ethicists support increased access for infertility
services through the use of a national insurance mandate. Using the
principles of justice and beneficence, ethicists argue that a system which
discourages equal access to treatment is discriminatory and results in
marginal care for those of lower socioeconomic status. When treatment
is available and effective for a medical disorder, it is not "just" to
prevent some members of society from obtaining it. However, some
medical ethicists use the same principle of justice to dispute the necessity
of mandatory insurance coverage (see below).
CON
Insurance
Providers
Insurance
providers generally oppose the idea of a mandate for infertility coverage
for economic reasons. Any increase in patient benefits translates into
increased expenses, which conflicts with the provider's goal of maximizing
profit margins. Insurance companies employ a number of arguments
to justify their stance on the infertility coverage debate.
One argument frequently advanced is that infertility is not an illness and, furthermore, the treatment of infertility is not a medical necessity. In fact, infertility is an established illness of the reproductive system for which legitimate and effective treatments exist. The treatment of infertility falls within the definition of "medical necessity," that is, "medically required and medically appropriate for diagnosis and treatment of an illness under professionally recognized standards of health care."
Another argument often presented against mandating infertility coverage is that many infertility services are experimental. Since the late 1980s, the most widely used treatments for infertility have not been considered experimental by the American Medical Association. Finally, groups against mandated coverage reason that the definition of "infertility" is too broad and that the scope of services needs to be tightened before coverage can be provided. These arguments have little logic and are fundamentally inconsistent with how other complicated, broad illnesses have been successfully covered by insurance providers.
Health
Care Providers
Some health
care providers oppose a federal mandate for insurance coverage because
profit margins may be reduced. As was the case in Massachusetts,
where coverage is guaranteed to all policy holders, insurance companies
would set limits on treatment costs and implement a capitation system for
payment, reducing profits to clinics and physicians. Smaller infertility
clinics may also oppose the mandate because the larger providers will likely
be favored in the selection of care providers by insurance companies.
Medical
Ethicists
The principle
of justice addresses the question of fair distribution of scarce resources
and the management of competing needs, rights and obligations. The
case of an infertility treatment mandate brings up ethical dilemmas because
many other diseases and conditions do not have special coverage by insurance
companies. Oral contraceptives, which are used by many more women
than those seeking infertility treatment, are not universally covered.
Some ethicists argue that although infertility treatment is a justifiable
cause, other more widespread and serious conditions should receive insurance
priority when deciding where to expend limited resources.