Labor department OKs standalone fertility treatment benefits

Summary

The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury issued joint guidance allowing employers to offer standalone fertility treatment benefits — similar to dental or vision plans — as excepted benefits that need not be part of a traditional group health plan. The move, described in a White House fact sheet, clarifies how fertility coverage (including IVF) can be structured as independent, non‑coordinated excepted benefits or as limited excepted benefits, and signals forthcoming rulemaking to further reduce barriers for employers, especially small and medium sized firms.

Key Points

The agencies issued joint guidance explaining how fertility benefits can be offered as excepted benefits not subject to certain Affordable Care Act requirements.
Fertility coverage may be provided as independent, non‑coordinated excepted benefits or as limited excepted benefits (including HRAs that reimburse fertility costs).
Employees enrolled in such excepted benefits can still contribute to health savings accounts in many cases, per the guidance.
The departments plan further rulemaking to expand the ways employers can offer fertility benefits, aiming to ease uptake by small and medium employers.
The administration has pushed for wider access to IVF; surveys show many employees value fertility benefits and some would change jobs for them.

Content summary

The guidance answers frequently asked questions about structuring fertility benefits outside traditional group health plans, clarifying that an employee need not be enrolled in a primary group health plan for an independent, non‑coordinated policy to qualify. It also highlights limited excepted benefit approaches, such as benefit HRAs to reimburse out‑of‑pocket fertility care and employee assistance programmes that provide coaching or navigator services to help workers understand options.

The White House framed the action as part of a broader effort to lower IVF costs and expand access, following an executive order earlier this year encouraging reduced out‑of‑pocket expenses for IVF. Data cited by the article note that large employers are more likely to cover IVF, while small and medium firms often offer limited coverage — a gap the guidance aims to address.

Context and relevance

This is a practical policy shift for HR and benefits teams: it creates clearer compliance pathways for offering fertility benefits without reshaping an employer’s main health plan. For benefits managers, compensation leads and in‑house counsel, the guidance reduces regulatory uncertainty around plan design and tax/benefit interactions (for example, HSA compatibility and HRA usage).

Given ongoing competition for talent and the documented demand for fertility support (surveys show many workers would consider switching jobs for such benefits), employers that move quickly could use standalone fertility options to improve recruitment and retention without adding full scale health plan changes.

Why should I read this?

Short version: if you deal with benefits, payroll or HR policy, this affects how you can offer IVF and other fertility supports — and it gives you simpler, lower‑risk ways to add those perks. Read it to find out whether your current benefits setup can be tweaked to include fertility coverage without rewriting your group health plan.

Author style

Punchy: This is a policy nudge that matters for employers and employees alike. If you manage benefits, the guidance could let you add fertility support faster and with fewer legal headaches — worth a closer look.