Bill
H 4554
Requires MassHealth and private insurers to cover standard fertility preservation for patients whose treatment may cause infertility (including sickle cell care), expanding access.
Status: Introduced (9/29/2025); reported favorably by the committee on Financial Services and referred to the committee on Health Care Financing. Also appears with a House special‑order resolution filed/acted on 5/8/2025 in the bill file.
Purpose
- To improve care for people with sickle cell disease (SCD) by (1) requiring coverage of fertility‑preservation services when medical treatment may cause infertility (including SCD treatments) and (2) creating a Statewide Steering Committee on Sickle Cell Disease to coordinate policy, clinical, and educational responses.
Key provisions
Requires the Division to calculate and report changes in state spending attributable to this coverage to the House and Senate Ways & Means Committees before Nov 1, 2025 and every third year thereafter.
Mandatory commercial insurance coverage for fertility preservation
Requires all health insurance policies subject to specified Massachusetts laws (including policies under chapters 32A, 176A, 176B, 176G, 176I, 176J, 176Q and certain group/accident & sickness policies) to cover medically necessary standard fertility preservation services when a treatment may directly or indirectly cause iatrogenic infertility.
Prohibits insurers from discriminating in coverage decisions based on expected length of life, disability, medical dependency, quality of life, or personal characteristics (age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status).
Uses the same evidence‑based definitions for “may directly or indirectly cause,” “iatrogenic infertility,” and “standard fertility preservation services.”
Statewide Steering Committee on Sickle Cell Disease (Department of Public Health)
Establishes a multi‑stakeholder steering committee to guide statewide SCD policy and programs.
Membership includes patient and parent representatives, clinicians from major SCD treatment centers, representatives of the Massachusetts Sickle Cell Disease Association, community health workers, social workers, education officials (including Section 504 expertise), political caucus designees, and scientific/psycho‑social experts. (The bill specifies appointment authorities for each seat.)
Who is affected
- MassHealth enrollees facing treatments that risk infertility (including people with SCD and cancer).
- Individuals with SCD and their families (through both clinical supports and the steering committee).
- Private and employer‑sponsored insurers doing business in Massachusetts (as specified by statute) — they must cover fertility preservation services under the standards set.
- Providers and clinics providing fertility preservation and SCD care.
- Department of Public Health and other agencies responsible for committee appointments, reporting, and implementation.
Procedural/timeline notes & observations
- The text directs the Division of Medical Assistance to apply for CMS approval “before January 1, 2024” — a date already past at the time of filing (9/29/2025); this may be a drafting/dating inconsistency that could require correction or legislative staff clarification.
- The Division must report fiscal impacts before Nov 1, 2025 and every third year thereafter.
- Legislative actions recorded: special‑order resolution related materials filed 5/8/2025; committee report and new draft filed 9/19–9/29/2025; reported favorably 9/29/2025 and referred to Health Care Financing.
Next steps
- Referred to the House committee on Health Care Financing for further consideration and any potential amendment, fiscal review, or scheduling for floor action.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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