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Infertility Insurance Legislation in PA - Stalled by Still Alive

by Gabrielle on February 26th, 2008

You may recall that I scheduled a meeting with Representative Josh Shapiro to talk about a piece of legislation that he introduced in Pennsylvania that would extend insurance coverage to include infertility treatments. I had the opportunity to talk with Representative Shapiro earlier today.

His amendment to House bill 2026 was presented to the House Committee on Insurance, but then withdrawn, which means the committee requested more information before they discuss it. (For a refresher course on the process, help yourself to the video below.) I introduced myself to him, thanked him profusely for introducing the legislation and asked what we, meaning wanna-be moms and dads, could do to help further his efforts.

Representative Shapiro said the barrier to its passage were legislators (mostly Republicans) who are averse to anything they consider a mandate. He said that the legislature needs to be more informed about infertility treatments and options and that hearing from their constituents always helps. I was happy to say I had already contacted mine. It was a great conversation (and to answer your questions, Melis, 1.) yes and 2.) I forgot to check!!)

When I got home and checked my mail I was happy to find a letter from my representative thanking me for my email and for “sharing my story.” He assured me he would be voting in favor of the amendment when it did come up for a vote. The letter was brief enough that I suspect that perhaps it wasn’t even a form letter.

Hey, if you didn’t know, contacting your legislator is easy and important and FUN! If you’re not sure how, you can visit RESOLVE’s Action Alert Center and follow their instructions. If you liked that, keep going with your bad self and check out another site like Congress.org and see what other issues matter to you.

If you’re willing to step it up even more, stay tuned for more information on RESOLVE’s Advocacy Day in Washington, DC which will happen April 10, 2008.

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