Today (April 24, 2025), during National Infertility Awareness Week, Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), led the reintroduction of the Expanding Access to Fertility Care for Servicemembers and Dependents Act, which would expand TRICARE coverage to make assisted reproductive services, including IVF, available to all active-duty servicemembers (including the Reserve and National Guard) and dependents – regardless of service-connection requirements, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or marital status of the servicemember or their dependent.
This bill has been endorsed by RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the Modern Military Association of America.
“Answering the call to serve often means making a great number of sacrifices for your country. Being able to start a family should not be one of them. This bill removes current barriers in TRICARE and helps ensure that all servicemembers can access the fertility care they deserve to start a family,” said Strickland.
“Our nation’s servicemembers and their families make incredible sacrifices every day, and they deserve access to the full spectrum of medical care to build their families. The majority of Americans — 85% — support access to IVF, one of the most effective medical treatments for those struggling to build their family. Expanding TRICARE coverage to include IVF and fertility care is not just the right thing to do—it’s a critical investment in the health and well-being of military families. RESOLVE stands strongly in support of this long-overdue change, and we urge Congress to act swiftly to ensure that no one who serves our country is denied the chance to become a parent,” said Barbara Collura, President/CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association
“For decades, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) has been a leader in promoting policies that expand access to fertility treatments like IVF for military families, who face unique family building challenges due to the nature of their work in service to our country,” said Sean Tipton, ASRM Chief Advocacy & Policy Officer. “We thank Congresswoman Strickland, Delegate Norton, Congressman Takano, and Congresswoman Pressley for calling attention to the fact that current Department of Defense (DoD) policy – which limits TRICARE coverage for fertility treatments to only service members with a service-connected illness or injury – fails to provide our military families with adequate access to care. It’s about time we address this shortcoming so that our brave men and women in uniform do not have to juggle the out-of-pocket costs for treatment with their service, end their military careers to access health care, or forego their dreams of having a family.”
“The Expanding Access to Fertility Care for Servicemembers and Dependents Act is a critical piece of legislation. By removing legal barriers that currently exclude from insurance coverage servicemembers whose infertility is not directly service-related, and safeguarding against discrimination in coverage of this care, the Act gets us closer to ensuring that all servicemembers and their dependents can have equitable and non-discriminatory access to the fertility health care they need to build their families,” said Karla Torres, Senior Human Rights Counsel, Center for Reproductive Rights
The legislation is cosponsored by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39), and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-7).
Read the full bill text here.
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