Aetna will settle with LGBTQ+ members over alleged discrimination with fertility treatments, according to mid-December court filings in the U.S. District Court for northern California.
The court granted preliminary approval for the class-action settlement Dec. 17. Commercial Aetna members with uteruses in an LGBTQ+ relationship who could not access services between April 17, 2019, and Dec. 31, 2024, are eligible for settlement funds. If there are no more than 175 class members, Aetna will pay $10,000 to each member. Otherwise, the members will split $1.75 million and each receive less than $10,000. Aetna will also reimburse artificial insemination treatments for denied members and create a “special harms common fund” worth $250,000.
The settlement includes policy changes, as well, such as establishing intrauterine and intracervical insemination as standard diagnostic medical benefits, requiring equal treatment of couples with ovulation cycle requirements and considering the limited availability of selected donor sperm when members want IVF sooner.
The initial complaint alleged that Aetna’s infertility policy centered on “unprotected heterosexual intercourse,” whereas LGBTQ+ members must prove six or 12 cycles of artificial insemination treatments, “the very fertility treatments for which they seek coverage.”
“Aetna is committed to equal access to infertility coverage and reproductive health coverage for all its members, and we will continue to strive toward improving access to services for our entire membership,” an Aetna spokesperson said in a statement shared with Becker’s. “We provide infertility coverage in accordance with an individual’s benefits plan, coverage rules and applicable law.”
