Title: Veterans Infertility Treatment Act of 2020
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Veterans Infertility Treatment Act of 2020
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish infertility treatments, standard fertility preservation services, or both to a covered veteran, spouse, partner, or gestational surrogate if the individuals jointly apply for such treatments or services. A covered veteran is a veteran who has infertility and is enrolled in the VA health care system.
Under the bill, in vitro fertilization treatment may only be furnished for up to three completed cycles resulting in live birth or six attempted cycles, whichever occurs first.
The bill authorizes the VA to pay the adoption expenses (for up to three adoptions) for covered veterans.
During the interim period before infertility treatment and adoption assistance regulations are in effect, the VA must ensure that fertility counseling and treatment for veterans may also be furnished to the partner of a veteran regardless of whether the veteran and the partner are married. Additionally, the VA may furnish such counseling and treatment using donated gametes or embryos.
The VA must facilitate research conducted collaboratively by the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services to improve the ability of the VA to meet the long-term reproductive health care needs of veterans who have infertility conditions.
Finally, the VA must ensure that useful information produced by such research is disseminated throughout the Veterans Health Administration.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8034 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8034

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs to provide coverage for infertility treatment and 
   standard fertility preservation services, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 14, 2020

  Ms. Brownley of California introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs to provide coverage for infertility treatment and 
   standard fertility preservation services, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Infertility Treatment Act 
of 2020''.

SEC. 2. INFERTILITY TREATMENTS FOR VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 17 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1720J. Infertility treatment and standard fertility preservation 
              services
    ``(a) Treatment and Services.--(1) In furnishing medical services 
under this chapter, the Secretary shall furnish infertility treatments 
(including through the use of assisted reproductive technology), 
standard fertility preservation services, or both, to a covered veteran 
or a spouse, partner, or gestational surrogate of a covered veteran, if 
the veteran and the spouse, partner, or gestational surrogate of the 
veteran, as applicable, apply jointly for such treatments or services, 
or both, through a process prescribed by the Secretary.
    ``(2) In the case of in vitro fertilization treatment furnished 
under paragraph (1), the Secretary may furnish not more than three 
completed cycles that result in live birth or six attempted cycles of 
in vitro fertilization, whichever occurs first, to an individual under 
such paragraph.
    ``(b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to require the Secretary--
            ``(1) to find or certify a gestational surrogate for a 
        covered veteran or to connect a gestational surrogate with a 
        covered veteran; or
            ``(2) to furnish maternity care to a covered veteran or 
        spouse, partner, or gestational surrogate of a covered veteran, 
        in addition to what is otherwise required by section 1786 of 
        this title or other provisions of law.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `assisted reproductive technology' includes 
        in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments in which 
        both eggs and sperm are handled when clinically appropriate.
            ``(2) The term `covered veteran' means a veteran who--
                    ``(A) has infertility; and
                    ``(B) is enrolled in the system of annual patient 
                enrollment established under section 1705(a) of this 
                title.
            ``(3) The term `infertility'--
                    ``(A) means a disease or condition characterized 
                by--
                            ``(i) the failure to conceive a pregnancy 
                        or to carry a pregnancy to live birth after one 
                        year of regular, unprotected sexual 
                        intercourse; or
                            ``(ii) the inability of a person to 
                        reproduce either as an individual or with the 
                        partner of the individual; and
                    ``(B) includes instances in which a person is at 
                risk of being described in clauses (i) or (ii) of 
                subparagraph (A), as determined by a licensed physician 
                based on--
                            ``(i) the medical, sexual, and reproductive 
                        history, age, physical findings, or diagnostic 
                        testing, or a combination thereof, of the 
                        person; or
                            ``(ii) any planned medication therapy, 
                        surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or other 
                        medical treatment.
            ``(4) The term `partner', with respect to a veteran, means 
        an individual selected by the veteran who agrees to share with 
        the veteran the parental responsibilities with respect to any 
        child born as a result of the use of any infertility treatment 
        under this section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 17 of such title is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 1720I the following new item:

``1720J. Infertility treatment and standard fertility preservation 
                            services.''.

SEC. 3. ADOPTION ASSISTANCE FOR SEVERELY WOUNDED VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter VIII of chapter 17 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1789. Adoption assistance
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary may pay an amount, not to exceed 
the limitation amount, to assist a covered veteran in the adoption of 
one or more children.
    ``(b) Limitation Amount.--For purposes of this section, the 
limitation amount is the amount equal to the cost the Department would 
incur by paying the expenses of three adoptions by covered veterans, as 
determined by the Secretary.
    ``(c) Covered Veteran Defined.--In this section, the term `covered 
veteran' has the meaning given that term in section 1720J of this 
title.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 17 of such title is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 1788 the following new item:

``1789. Adoption assistance.''.

SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT ON INFERTILITY TREATMENT FURNISHED BY DEPARTMENT 
              OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Report.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives reports on the 
infertility treatment furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs 
during the year preceding the submission of the report. The Secretary 
shall submit such reports as follows:
            (1) An initial report by not later than one year after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) A second report by not later than November 11, 2022.
            (3) Annual reports beginning in 2023.
    (b) Elements.--Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall 
include, for the period covered by the report, the following:
            (1) The number of veterans who received infertility 
        treatment furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
        disaggregated by era of military service of such veterans.
            (2) The number of spouses, partners, and gestational 
        surrogates of veterans who received infertility treatment 
        furnished by the Department.
            (3) The cost to the Department of furnishing infertility 
        treatment, disaggregated by cost of services and 
        administration.
            (4) The average cost to the Department per recipient of 
        infertility treatment.
            (5) In cases in which the Department furnished infertility 
        treatment through the use of assisted reproductive technology, 
        the average number of cycles per person furnished, 
        disaggregated by type of treatment.
            (6) A description of how infertility treatment services of 
        the Department are coordinated with similar services of the 
        Department of Defense and the Indian Health Service, 
        respectively.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``assisted 
reproductive technology'', ``infertility treatment'', and ``partner'' 
have the meanings given those terms in sections 1701 and 1720J of title 
38, United States Code, respectively, as amended by this Act.

SEC. 5. REGULATIONS ON FURNISHING OF INFERTILITY TREATMENT AND ADOPTION 
              ASSISTANCE BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Regulations.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
prescribe regulations--
            (1) to carry out section 1720J of title 38, United States 
        Code, as added by section 2; and
            (2) to carry out section 1789 of such title, as added by 
        section 3.
    (b) Interim Policies.--During the period beginning 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act and the date on which the 
regulations are prescribed under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
ensure that fertility counseling and treatment furnished pursuant to 
section 235 of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020 (division F of Public Law 116-94) or 
other provisions of law administered by the Secretary include the 
following elements:
            (1) The Secretary may furnish such counseling and treatment 
        to the partner of a veteran covered by such provision without 
        regard to whether the partner and veteran are married.
            (2) The Secretary may furnish such counseling and treatment 
        using donated gametes or embryos.
    (c) Partner Defined.--In this section, the term ``partner'' has the 
meaning given that term in section 1720J of title 38, United States 
Code, as added by section 2.

SEC. 6. FACILITATION OF REPRODUCTION AND INFERTILITY RESEARCH.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 7330D. Facilitation of reproduction and infertility research
    ``(a) Facilitation of Research Required.--The Secretary shall 
facilitate research conducted collaboratively by the Secretary of 
Defense and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to improve the 
ability of the Department of Veterans Affairs to meet the long-term 
reproductive health care needs of veterans who have infertility 
conditions that affect the veterans' ability to reproduce.
    ``(b) Dissemination of Information.--The Secretary shall ensure 
that information produced by the research facilitated under this 
section that may be useful for other activities of the Veterans Health 
Administration is disseminated throughout the Veterans Health 
Administration.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 73 of such title is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 7330C the following new item:

``7330D. Facilitation of reproduction and infertility research.''.
    (c) Report.--Not later than three years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 
to Congress a report on the research activities conducted by the 
Secretary under section 7330D of title 38, United States Code, as added 
by subsection (a).
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