The House Budget Committee has approved a bill that would provide state employees undergoing cancer treatment with access to fertility preservation services. The measure, sponsored by Republican Rep. Dana Trabulsy of Fort Pierce, passed its third and final committee stop with unanimous support.
The bill (HB 677) mandates that the Department of Management Services (DMS) include coverage for medically necessary fertility preservation expenses in the state group insurance program. This includes the storage of sperm and eggs for employees undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Trabulsy explained that the rising costs of fertility preservation drove the bill. The proposed legislation will cover state employees only. The measure would provide coverage for up to three years.
“It will provide state-covered insurance for employees who are undergoing medical treatment for cancer, specifically undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, to have egg and sperm preservation for up to three years,” Trabulsy stated.
House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa, the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, inquired whether the measure could be expanded to encompass other conditions potentially affecting fertility, like Sickle Cell. Trabulsy acknowledged the possibility of future expansions but emphasized the current focus on navigating the bill through the legislative process. She noted the state’s fiscal commitment to the program, estimated at about $813,000.
“I think this year, we’re going to take one bite out of the apple,” Trabulsy said. “But I think that it is important that we absolutely look at other types of diseases, that we could preserve fertilization because of the negative consequences of the medications that might be taken or just because it is the right thing to do.”
A similar bill, SB 924, sponsored by Republican Sen. Alexis Calatayud of Miami-Dade, is currently under review in the Senate.
