Denied same-sex marriage coverage, Mass. veteran settles suit for IVF benefits

When Ashley Sheffield was first told her insurance wouldn’t cover IVF, the answer might have been simple: Get married. This was one of the requirements for individuals to receive fertility treatment covered by Department of Veterans Affairs insurance.

So the Air Force veteran and her partner had a backyard wedding — in a “beautiful meadow” — and reapplied. Then came the second denial.

“You are not qualified if you are (sic) in a same-sex marriage or if the sperm is donated from someone other than a male spouse. I’m sorry,” her VA case manager wrote to her in 2021, according to court records.

“I was quite shocked,” Sheffield recalled to GBH News. “‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ was repealed over 10 years ago.”

Late last month, Sheffield settled her lawsuit against the department, which covered the costs of fertility treatment as part of the settlement.

Now, the department is changing its policy following Sheffield’s lawsuit and another lawsuit in New York filed by the National Organization for Women-New York City. The policy laid out specific requirements for the person seeking IVF: to have a military service-related injury that affects their fertility, to be married, and to be able to produce the necessary sperm and eggs within their marriage.

To Sheffield, that policy seemed like “blatant discrimination.” She met the first two requirements, but could not meet the final criterion within her same-sex marriage. So she found a lawyer and started paying for IVF out of pocket.

Last August, she filed the lawsuit. And in November she gave birth to her daughter.

“Now that I have a healthy baby, I mean, that’s part of the story of her birth,” Sheffield said. “And I hope that when she’s older, she’ll look back and be proud of what I’ve been through. And I also hope that if she’s ever faced with something that isn’t fair, just or unfair, she feels motivated to stand up and fight — not only for herself, but for those who can’t.”

The settlement covers both her legal fees and the nearly $40,000 paid by Sheffield and her wife for fertility treatments. It does not include any admission of guilt or discrimination by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

With the VA — as well as the Department of Defense — now changing their policies, veterans will soon be able to use donor sperm or eggs when doing IVF, which will affect more than just same-sex couples. The departments also lift the obligation to marry.

Courtesy of Ashley Sheffield

A significant requirement to access IVF benefits is still in place: that a person’s infertility be caused by an injury during military service. In an effort to raise that standard, Renée Mihail is working on the other Yale Law School Veterans Legal Services Clinic lawsuit filed by NOW-NYC.

“For most people, this is the biggest obstacle to care and relief,” Mihail told GBH News. “Obviously they’ve dropped the marriage requirement and the donor gamete ban, but with the cause of infertility requirement still in place, it’s almost impossible for people to get care because it’s so hard to prove the cause of their infertility. “

The Department of Veterans Affairs said it could not comment on pending litigation, but Press Secretary Terrence Hayes wrote in a statement that “VA is committed to helping as many veterans as possible start a family.”

Sheffield, for her part, feels she has “hit the jackpot”.

“I’m very happy that the policy has changed and others who were going through my situation will now be able to receive the benefits,” Sheffield said. “Because anyone who has ever been through IVF knows how exhausting it is, and so this is just one thing on their plate. And veterans deserve to be cared for.”