Currently TRICARE does not cover In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), but that may soon change. Sen. Patty Murray, Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, recently introduced a bill that would allow veterans and spouses to receive IVF services through the VA.
“The nature of the current conflict and increasing use of improvised explosive devices leaves service members, both male and female, at increased risk for blast injuries including spinal cord injury and trauma to the reproductive and urinary tracts,” Murray said. “Army data shows that between 2003 and 2011, more than 600 women and men experienced these life-changing battle injuries while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. As they return from the battlefield … the VA system must be equipped to help injured veterans step back into their lives as parents, spouses and citizens.”
The bill is known as the “Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvement Act of 2012″ and includes the proposed creation of a child care program for veterans seeking readjustment counseling. The bill also includes a requirement for the VA to improve outreach to women veterans so women can better access VA health care and benefits.
Recent concerns linking IVF with Breast Cancer may slow the bill’s progress.
Related articles
- New bill gives veterans access to in vitro fertilization (stripes.com)
- Will TRICARE Prime Pay for In Vitro (e-how.com)
- IVF in Young Women Tied to Later Breast Cancer (nlm.nih.gov)
