The New York City Council wants to cover the cost of In Vitro Fertilization for gay male employees.
The push follows lawsuits from gay couples who argued the current policy is discriminatory.
The governing body’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus lobbied New York City Mayor Eric Adams to allow gay men employed by the city to get compensated for the IVF process because the city covers the procedure for infertile people. The city’s health care plan defines infertility as being unable to get pregnant through male-female sex or intrauterine insemination.
In a letter first obtained by POLITICO, the caucus said the city’s current policy is “exclusionary and outdated.”
“The City offered IVF benefits to City employees who are single women, female employees with female or male partners, and male employees with female partners,” the officials wrote. “As the definition stands, gay men cannot qualify for IVF benefits, even when they have the same need for IVF as other employees and their partners.”
The caucus continued:We ask that you take immediate action to extend IVF benefits to gay male employees and their partners under all the City’s healthcare plans and to agree to reimburse all of the gay men who have been denied IVF benefits in the past because of the City’s discrimination. We also ask that you support our legislation that would codify that all City employees and their partners have an equal opportunity to access IVF and other assisted reproductive services.
We believe that New York City can be a leader when it comes to providing employees equal access to IVF services. The Administration has the power to grant employees the benefits to receive IVF coverage, ensuring that individuals are in full power of their desire to create a family, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
In May, a gay couple filed a class action lawsuit against New York City. Corey Briskin and Nicholas Maggipinto accused the city of discrimination and argued the healthcare plan accommodates heterosexual couples and lesbians but not relationships involving two men.
Briskin was an assistant district attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan from 2017 to March of 2022. He is still covered by the city health care plan because of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act , “which allows employees to continue to receive health care coverage from their former employer for up to three years if they pay the full premium,” per NBC News.
Briskin and Maggipinto planned to use health insurance to cover the creation of an embryo through IVF and then pay out of pocket for a woman to serve as a gestational carrier. They filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Opportunity Commission in April of 2022 in hopes of having the policy changes.
The letter from the LGBTQIA+ Caucus referenced the lawsuit when pushing the mayor to take action.
A spokesperson for Adams said in a statement that the city’s healthcare plan covers IVF for employees of any sexual orientation but it does not cover the cost of egg or sperm donation.
“The Adams administration proudly supports the rights of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers to access the health care they need,” said Garia, per KOMONews.
