RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association Celebrates One Million Covered Lives through Coverage at Work Program

MCLEAN, Va. (PRWEB) April 28, 2022

RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association celebrates one million covered lives through its Coverage at Work program. This free program empowers people, whose health insurance is provided by their employer, to talk to their HR benefits managers about adding benefits and coverage that help them build their family.

This program launched in 2016, and since then RESOLVE has tracked more than 45 companies who because their employee used RESOLVE's program, have added family building benefits, the biggest being insurance coverage for medically necessary treatments like In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). The total number of these employees with new or expanded healthcare benefits for family building options reached 1 million in April 2022.

"Adding family building benefits is a win-win for employers and employees. Employers often don't realize there is a gap in benefits until their employees point it out. Satisfying employee requests is a top reason cited by employers for adding these benefits. RESOLVE looks forward to working with employees and employers alike to welcome the next one million employees with new or improved family building benefits, but let's not wait another six years to reach that milestone, as family building can't wait," said Betsy Campbell, Chief Engagement Officer for RESOLVE.

The 2021 Survey on Fertility Benefits from Mercer and commissioned by RESOLVE, found that 97% of employers who added coverage for IVF did not see a significant increase in costs. In fact, the report finds this highly valued benefit is both affordable and beneficial to companies in terms of attracting and retaining talent, being recognized as a family friendly employer, and supporting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts.

"At the Medical College of Wisconsin, we believe it is important to provide inclusive benefits for our employees, and that means fertility benefits are a must-have. Infertility is a common and growing diagnosis, and the demand for fertility benefits continues to increase. It is both an important family friendly benefit for our employees and one way in which we remain competitive in the job market," said Director of Benefits at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

1 in 8 couples has trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy, and many more people face barriers to building a family. The financial stress around building a family can easily impact an employee's daily life and mental health. According to a survey commissioned by RESOLVE of 702 employees who needed IVF to build their families, those without employer-provided fertility insurance coverage often expressed dissatisfaction and, in some cases, the desire to look for new employment opportunities with employers who provide coverage.

"We believe it is critical that we continuously evaluate our benefits offering and identify how best to support our workforce. An essential aspect of this work is engaging with our employees to understand their needs, and we appreciate programs like RESOLVE that encourage these discussions," said Marc Serrilli, HR Total Rewards, Vice President, The J.M. Smucker Co. "Through dialogue with our employees, we identified the need for enhanced infertility services, which were made available to employees on February 1, 2022. This enhanced offering builds on our efforts to provide inclusive and accessible family building options via infertility services, adoption reimbursement, and surrogacy reimbursement."

The hope is that when companies add these benefits, it allows their employees to start or grow their families without the added financial stress. Many employees would not become parents without these life-altering benefits. Kienan Robinson volunteered as an advocate in 2019 and worked hard on the issue to help pass a mandate for IVF treatment in New York. When she realized that her employer was self-insured and would not be subjected to the new mandate, she turned her attention and her passion to the benefits team of the regional medical center where she works. Now Kienan, a mother of three, has brought the same benefits to her colleagues that other New York employers provide through a state insurance law.

"Securing benefits through my employer was life changing. Had we not gained access to fertility coverage, my husband and I would have been forced to stop trying for our family as the financial burden became too overwhelming. After the New York State mandate was passed, I reached out to our VP of Human Resources at the time to discuss the importance of including the mandate in our benefits package. She was extremely receptive and truly believed these benefits were necessary to provide employees. The company mirrored the coverage exactly as it was mandated and now over 1,000 employees have access to coverage. I'm so thankful to have had such a supportive team and would encourage everyone to make the ask to their employer," said Kienan Robinson.

Employees and employers can easily download a free toolkit to get the conversations started about how to add these important, inclusive benefits. http://www.resolve.org/coverageatwork

RESOLVE's Coverage at Work program is generously funded through grants from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and EMD Serono.

About RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association: Established in 1974, RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association is a non-profit organization with the only established, nationwide network mandated to promote reproductive health and to ensure equal access to all family building options for anyone experiencing infertility or challenges in building their family. One in eight U.S. couples of childbearing age has trouble conceiving or carrying a pregnancy to term. RESOLVE addresses this public health issue by providing community to all who need it, connecting them with others who can help, empowering them to find resolution and giving voice to their demands for access to all family building options. For more information, visit http://www.RESOLVE.org.

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