Injured veterans who struggle to conceive children may get some help from the federal government. Washington Sen. Patty Murray says the Senate may vote next week on an appropriations bill that includes an amendment to cover their fertility treatments.
This is an issue Sen. Murray, a Democrat, has been working on for almost six years. Fertility treatments for active-duty members of the military who get injured are covered under their health benefits, but once they leave the service, the Department of Veterans Affairs doesn’t provide coverage.
That’s because Congress passed a bill in 1992 barring the VA from paying for in vitro fertilization.
"I am working with everything I have. I think this is so important," Murray said. "I have talked to so many men and women who have served us with severe injuries, maybe in wheelchairs, and all they want is a family."
Murray’s amendment to the appropriations bill would provide VA funding for two years to pay for injured veterans’ fertility treatments. She would like to just scrap the ban altogether but has faced opposition from some Republicans.
