H.R. 1670 (119th)Bill Overview

Family Building FEHB Fairness Act

Health|Family planning and birth controlGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Cosponsors
Support
Democratic
Introduced
Feb 27, 2025
Discussions
Bill Text
Current stageIntroduced

ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Walkinshaw asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 1670, a bill originally introduced by Represen…

Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
Congressional Activities
01 · The brief
Plain-English summaryWhat this bill actually does

The Family Building FEHB Fairness Act would amend 5 U.S.C. 8904 to require Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) plans to include fertility treatment benefits. It defines covered services broadly (egg/sperm/embryo preservation, artificial insemination, assisted reproductive technology including IVF, embryo genetic testing, medications, gamete donation, and other fertility-related services as determined by OPM and HHS).

Why people may split

Cost and premium impact versus reproductive access priorities

Watch point

Narrow federal-benefit bill with sympathetic constituency; some fiscal/ethical objections may reduce support.

The Family Building FEHB Fairness Act would amend 5 U.S.C. 8904 to require Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) plans to include fertility treatment benefits.

It defines covered services broadly (egg/sperm/embryo preservation, artificial insemination, assisted reproductive technology including IVF, embryo genetic testing, medications, gamete donation, and other fertility-related services as determined by OPM and HHS).

The new requirement takes effect one year after enactment.

Passage45/100

Reasonably narrow and administrable mandate with moderate costs and some ideological sensitivity; success depends on fiscal scoring and bipartisan support.

CredibilityPartial

How solid the drafting looks.

Contention72/100

Cost and premium impact versus reproductive access priorities

02 · What it does

Who stands to gain, and who may push back.

Likely benefits vs burdens50% / 50%
Federal agenciesFederal agencies

These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.

Likely helped
  • Federal agenciesReduces out-of-pocket costs for federal employees seeking fertility services.
  • Potential benefitExpands access to assisted reproductive technologies and fertility preservation services.
  • Federal agenciesMakes federal benefits more competitive, potentially aiding recruitment and retention.
Likely burdened
  • Federal agenciesLikely increases FEHB plan costs, potentially raising premiums or federal employer contributions.
  • Potential burdenImposes administrative and compliance burdens on OPM, carriers, and providers.
  • Potential burdenCoverage of embryo genetic testing and gamete donation could raise ethical and religious objections.
03 · Why people split

Why the argument around this bill splits.

Cost and premium impact versus reproductive access priorities
Progressive90%

Generally strongly supportive.

This mandate is seen as expanding reproductive healthcare access and correcting inequities for federal employees seeking family building.

May want additional protections ensuring comprehensive coverage and protection from discriminatory exclusions.

Leans supportive
Centrist70%

Cautiously supportive.

Sees merit in standardizing fertility benefits for federal employees and improving recruitment, but wants clear cost estimates and implementation rules.

Likely to back the policy if accompanied by fiscal analysis and guardrails to prevent large premium spikes.

Leans supportive
Conservative20%

Likely opposed.

Views the bill as an expansion of federal-mandated benefits, potentially raising costs and intruding into morally contested reproductive areas like embryo handling and genetic testing.

Would push for conscience protections, limits, or state-level discretion.

Likely resistant
04 · Can it pass?

The path through Congress.

Introduced

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Committee

Still ahead

Floor

Still ahead

President

Still ahead

Law

Still ahead

Passage likelihood45/100

Reasonably narrow and administrable mandate with moderate costs and some ideological sensitivity; success depends on fiscal scoring and bipartisan support.

Scope and complexity
24%
Scopenarrow
24%
Complexitylow
Why this could stall
  • No CBO cost estimate included
  • Scope of OPM/HHS discretionary additions under "other" services
05 · Recent votes

Recent votes on the bill.

No vote history yet

The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.

06 · Go deeper

Go deeper than the headline read.

Included on this page

Cost and premium impact versus reproductive access priorities

Reasonably narrow and administrable mandate with moderate costs and some ideological sensitivity; success depends on fiscal scoring and bip…

Unlocked analysis

Pro readers get the full perspective split, passage barriers, legislative design review, stakeholder impact map, and lens-based policy tradeoff analysis for Family Building FEHB Fairness Act.

Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.

Perspective breakdownsPassage barriersLegislative design reviewStakeholder impact map
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