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Untitled document
August 9, 2012
WASHINGTON – Congressman Charles F. Bass (NH-02) announced today that he has recently cosponsored H.R. 3522, the Family Act, which serves as a mechanism to support those seeking to build a family through medical treatment for infertility. If passed, the Family Act will establish a tax credit, based on the current adoption tax credit, to improve access to medical treatment for infertility and will help those who might not otherwise be able to have children and build families of their own through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Bass said:
"It is more important than ever to establish policies that are supportive of families, and I am happy to sponsor legislation that will help the millions of Americans who are hoping to start a family but have not been able to due to infertility."
The American Society of Reproductive Medicine lists the average price of one IVF cycle in the U.S. to be $12,400. For the majority of patients seeking treatment for infertility, costs for assisted reproductive technology, such as IVF, are paid for out-of-pocket and are not a covered benefit under group or individual health insurance policies. Only 15 states have passed laws requiring that insurance policies cover or offer to cover some level of infertility treatment.
Local physicians Drs. Joseph Hill and Danielle Vitiello of the Fertility Centers of New England, with offices in Nashua, Bedford, and Portsmouth said, "On behalf of patients in Southern New Hampshire who struggle having a family, we applaud Rep. Bass for cosponsoring this important legislation. Access to treatment is an important issue and one of the reasons our practice has recently expanded to include the Nashua area, which together with this bill can give people a chance to have a family of their own."
The Family Act of 2011 was introduced to the Senate in May 2011 by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in an effort to reduce the considerable cost barriers that infertile couples face.
"We applaud Charlie Bass for supporting the needs of people in New Hampshire and across the U.S. who so desire to be parents, but need medical treatment to overcome their fertility," said Barbara Collura, Executive Director of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. "The Family Act is the most pro-family bill in Congress, and Rep. Bass has gone a long way toward making it become a reality."
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