Washington HB 1129: Providing associate degree education to enhance education opportunities and public safety.

Bill Text

AN ACT Relating to providing coverage for the diagnosis of 1
infertility, treatment for infertility, and standard fertility 2
preservation services; adding a new section to chapter 48.43 RCW; 3
adding a new section to chapter 41.05 RCW; adding a new section to 4
chapter 74.09 RCW; and creating new sections.5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that:7
(a) According to the federal centers for disease control and 8
prevention, over 12 percent of women of reproductive age in the 9
United States have difficulty becoming pregnant or staying pregnant;10
(b) Infertility is evenly divided between men and women and 11
approximately one-third of cases involve both partners being 12
diagnosed or are unexplained;13
(c) Increasing accessibility for infertility treatment will 14
expand the state's health services and improve the short and long-15
term health outcomes for the resulting children and mothers, which 16
may also reduce health care costs by reducing adverse outcomes; and17
(d) Insurance coverage reduces disparities in access to care for 18
racial and ethnic minorities as well as for LGBTQ persons.19
H-0868.1
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1129
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By House Health Care & Wellness (originally sponsored by
Representatives Stonier, Macri, Street, Shavers, Farivar, Simmons,
Tharinger, Parshley, Obras, Fosse, Reeves, Bernbaum, Mena, Fey,
Taylor, Berry, Pollet, Entenman, Alvarado, Reed, Fitzgibbon, Callan,
Cortes, Timmons, Ortiz-Self, Peterson, Goodman, Wylie, Berg, Ormsby,
Lekanoff, Salahuddin, and Hill)
READ FIRST TIME 01/28/25.
p. 1 SHB 1129

(2) The legislature, therefore, intends to provide coverage for 1
the diagnosis of and treatment for infertility, as well as for 2
standard fertility preservation services.3
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 48.43 4
RCW to read as follows:5
(1) Group health plans other than small group health plans issued 6
or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, must include coverage for 7
standard fertility preservation services.8
(2) Group health plans other than small group health plans issued 9
or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, must include coverage for the 10
diagnosis of and treatment for infertility. Coverage must provide for 11
two completed oocyte retrievals with unlimited embryo transfers in 12
accordance with the guidelines of the American society for 13
reproductive medicine, using single embryo transfer when recommended 14
and medically appropriate.15
(3) The benefits must be provided to enrollees, including covered 16
spouses and covered nonspouse dependents, to the same extent as other 17
pregnancy-related benefits.18
(4) Group health plans other than small group health plans may 19
not include:20
(a) Any exclusions, limitations, or other restrictions on 21
coverage of fertility medications that are different from those 22
imposed on other prescription medications;23
(b) Any exclusions, limitations, or other restrictions on 24
coverage of any fertility services based on a covered individual's 25
participation in fertility services provided by or to a third party; 26
or27
(c) Any deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, benefit maximums, 28
waiting periods, or any other limitations on coverage for the 29
diagnosis of infertility, treatment of infertility, and standard 30
fertility preservation services, except as provided in this section, 31
that are different from those imposed upon benefits for services not 32
related to infertility.33
(5) For the purposes of this section:34
(a) "Diagnosis of and treatment for infertility" means the 35
recommended procedures and medications from the direction of a 36
licensed physician, osteopathic physician, physician assistant, or 37
advanced registered nurse practitioner that are consistent with 38
established, published, or approved medical practices or professional 39
p. 2 SHB 1129

guidelines from the American college of obstetricians and 1
gynecologists or the American society for reproductive medicine.2
(b) "Infertility" means a disease, condition, or status 3
characterized by:4
(i) The failure to establish a pregnancy or to carry a pregnancy 5
to live birth after regular, unprotected sexual intercourse;6
(ii) A person's inability to reproduce either as a single 7
individual or with the person's partner without medical intervention;8
(iii) A licensed physician's, osteopathic physician's, physician 9
assistant's, or advanced registered nurse practitioner's findings 10
based on a patient's medical, sexual, and reproductive history, age, 11
physical findings, or diagnostic testing; or12
(iv) Disability as an impairment of function.13
(c) "Regular, unprotected sexual intercourse" means no more than 14
12 months of unprotected sexual intercourse for a woman under the age 15
of 35 or no more than six months of unprotected sexual intercourse 16
for a woman 35 years of age or older. Pregnancy resulting i