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Blue Cross Blue Shield Illinois LGBTQ fertility treatment class action overview:
- Who: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois is being sued by queer policyholders.
- Why: The policyholders say the insurer discriminates against members of the LGBTQ community in its fertility treatment policies.
- Where: Illinois federal court.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it has a health insurance policy that is discriminatory against LGBTQ individuals because it denies them equal access to fertility treatments.
Plaintiff Kelsey Murphy filed the class action lawsuit against the insurer May 19 in an Illinois federal court, alleging violations of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Murphy, who has a Blue Cross policy, says she and her partner want to have children, but she cannot conceive through intercourse with her partner and can become pregnant only through fertility treatments such as intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilization.
She says BCBSIL’s policy provides immediate coverage — without any out-of-pocket cost — to people who say they have not gotten pregnant after having unprotected sexual intercourse for 12 months.
However, the same policy requires people who cannot conceive through intercourse due to their sexual orientation or gender identity to pay out of pocket for one year of medically based and supervised methods of conception, including artificial insemination, before the insurer will provide them with coverage for fertility treatments, she alleges.
“Because of BCBSIL’s Policy, Ms. Murphy and her partner, and all other similarly situated LGBTQ individuals, have been forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket — in Ms. Murphy’s case, roughly $19,000 for one successful pregnancy — that others are not required to pay in order to become pregnant,” the lawsuit states.
Blue Cross policy could prevent certain people from having kids, lawsuit says
Murphy says BCBSIL’s policy language openly discriminates against her and other LGBTQ individuals based on their sex, sexual orientation and gender identity, in violation of the law.
“At best, these individuals incur great costs due to BCBSIL’s Policy language. At worst, these exorbitant costs are prohibitive and entirely prevent people who are unable to shoulder them — disproportionately LGBTQ people of color — from becoming pregnant and starting a family.”
She is suing on behalf of anyone covered by a BCBSIL health insurance plan in Illinois who has been or will be denied coverage for fertility treatment by BCBSIL due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
She’s seeking certification of the class, a change in insurance policy, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.
The news comes after Aetna Inc. was hit with a class action lawsuit in 2021 alleging it discriminates against LGBTQ customers by offering health plans that fail to provide equal access to fertility treatment.
What do you think of the allegations in this case? Let us know in the comments.
Murphy is represented by Molly Wells, Edward Wallace and Mark Miller of Wallace Miller.
The BCBS LGBTQ Insurance Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit is Murphy v. Health Care Service Corp., Case No. 1:22-cv-02656, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
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