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CIVIC HERALD
HR 9941 · 119th Congress · HouseIn committee

Right to IVF Act of 2026

In plain language: This bill establishes a federal right for individuals to access fertility treatments—such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination—and prevents states from enforcing restrictions that limit or ban these services. It allows patients, healthcare providers, and the federal government to file lawsuits against state laws that restrict access to fertility care or embryo storage and disposition. Additionally, the legislation requires private health insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, federal employee health plans, and the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to provide coverage for fertility treatments and preservation services.

Provisional: our plain-language summary, pending review.

Provisionalunreviewed: impact, issue tags, provisions, stakeholders, summary
People affectedThe text does not state the precise number of individuals, patients, servicemembers, veterans, or enrollees affected across the covered health systems.
Fiscal magnitudeno CBO estimate published
Reach88provisional · pending reviewrigor: heuristic llm
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Issues

What this bill touches.

Veterans' care delivery+55Government role in coverage+60Federal vs. state/local+70Abortion policy+80

The sign shows the bill's direction on each issue (+ toward, − away); the number is its magnitude. Color never encodes good or bad, and never party.

Who it affects

Who it helps · who it burdens.

Who it helps

  • Individuals seeking fertility careGains a federal statutory right to receive ART and IUI, make decisions regarding reproductive genetic material, and receive coverage across private insurance, Medicaid, Medicare Part B, FEHB, and military/veteran health programs, backed by the right to sue states that restrict access.provisional
  • Fertility healthcare providers and clinicsGain a federal statutory right to provide ART and IUI services, provide counseling and telemedicine, access federal court to strike down restrictive state laws and recover attorney fees, and receive protection against insurer reimbursement penalties.provisional
  • Manufacturers of fertility drugs and medical devicesGain a federal statutory right to manufacture, market, sell, import, and distribute FDA-approved or cleared drugs and devices used in ART and IUI without state-level interference.provisional
  • Military servicemembers and their familiesReceive Department of Defense-covered ART and IUI treatments (up to three completed egg retrievals and unlimited embryo transfers), reimbursement for donor material, care navigation support, and free retrieval and storage of reproductive material for deployments or service injuries.provisional
  • Enrolled military veterans and their partnersReceive VA-covered ART and IUI services (up to three completed egg retrievals and unlimited embryo transfers), reimbursement for donor procurement and travel expenses, and fertility care navigation assistance.provisional
  • Medicare beneficiariesReceive Medicare Part B coverage for ART and IUI services with 100 percent payment and no deductible or coinsurance starting January 1, 2027.provisional

Who it burdens

  • Private group health plans and health insurance issuersMust cover ART and IUI procedures without requiring an infertility diagnosis, cannot apply cost-sharing or limitations that are more restrictive than general medical services, and must issue mandatory written coverage notices to participants and beneficiaries.provisional
  • Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program plansMust include coverage for assisted reproductive technology and intrauterine insemination benefits in all FEHB health plans beginning one year after enactment.provisional
  • State Medicaid agenciesMust expand Medicaid coverage of family planning services to include ART and IUI compliant with federal commercial market parity rules, generally taking effect October 1, 2027.provisional
  • State and local governments and state officialsFace federal preemption of state laws prohibiting or restricting ART and IUI services, and are subject to federal civil lawsuits by the U.S. Attorney General, providers, and patients to enjoin such laws, including liability for prevailing plaintiffs' litigation costs and attorney fees.provisional
  • Department of DefenseRequired to furnish ART and IUI treatments, cover donor material procurement costs, provide free storage and transport of reproductive genetic material for deployed or injured servicemembers, and provide fertility care navigation.provisional
  • Department of Veterans AffairsRequired to provide ART and IUI treatments, pay or reimburse donor material and travel expenses for veterans, furnish care navigation support, and conduct reproductive healthcare research.provisional

Dollar-level funding (FEC sector totals) is coming in a later phase.

What it does

The provisions, in plain language.

  1. Establishes a federal statutory right for individuals to receive assisted reproductive technology (ART) and intrauterine insemination (IUI) and control their reproductive genetic material, for healthcare providers to perform these services, for health insurers to cover them, and for manufacturers to distribute related drugs and devices.

    Sec. 104(a)provisional
  2. Preempts state and local laws that prohibit, restrict, or burden ART and IUI services, treatments, facilities, telemedicine, or medications, except for health and safety rules that align with American Society for Reproductive Medicine guidelines and cannot be achieved by less restrictive means.

    Sec. 104(b), (e), Sec. 105provisional
  3. Authorizes the U.S. Attorney General, affected individuals, and healthcare providers to file civil lawsuits in federal court against states or state officials to invalidate and enjoin restrictions that violate federal ART and IUI rights, with courts awarding legal costs and attorney fees to prevailing plaintiffs.

    Sec. 104(c)provisional
  4. Requires the Department of Defense to provide ART, IUI, and counseling—including up to three completed egg retrievals, unlimited embryo transfers, and reimbursement for donated genetic materials—to servicemembers and their spouses, partners, or surrogates regardless of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, or infertility diagnosis.

    Sec. 202provisional
  5. Directs the Department of Defense to provide free retrieval, cryopreservation, and storage of reproductive material for servicemembers whose fertility is threatened by service-related illness or injury or who are preparing for combat or hazardous duty deployments, maintaining storage until one year after military discharge.

    Sec. 203provisional
  6. Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide ART, IUI, and counseling—including up to three egg retrievals, unlimited embryo transfers, and reimbursement for donated materials and travel expenses—to enrolled veterans and their spouses, partners, surrogates, or donors.

    Sec. 211, Sec. 212provisional
  7. Requires private group health plans and individual health insurance issuers to cover ART and IUI under cost-sharing and limitation rules no more restrictive than other medical services, without requiring an infertility diagnosis, starting for plan years six months after enactment.

    Sec. 302provisional
  8. Requires state Medicaid programs to cover ART and IUI as family planning services, generally taking effect October 1, 2027.

    Sec. 303provisional
  9. Expands Medicare Part B to cover ART and IUI services at 100 percent payment with no deductible or coinsurance, beginning January 1, 2027.

    Sec. 304provisional
  10. Requires Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program insurance plans to include coverage for ART and IUI benefits beginning one year after enactment.

    Sec. 402provisional

How your members of Congress line up

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Timeline

How it moved.

  1. Jul 23, 2026Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs, Armed Services, Education and Workforce, Ways and Means, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  2. Jul 23, 2026Introduced in House
  3. Jul 23, 2026Introduced in House

The original text

Read it for yourself.

Sources & provenance

Congress.govrefreshed 9 days ago

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