Pacific Blue Cross announced it has partnered with the BC Women’s Health Foundation, to create a new personal health insurance plan which offers family planning benefits, including coverage for fertility drugs, related treatments and adoption.
“The changes to the personal health insurance plan make Pacific Blue Cross the only provider in Canada to offer family planning benefits within an individual health and dental plan,” they write.
“The BC Women’s Health Foundation supported the development of this plan from iteration to launch, providing valuable insights to women’s health throughout the process and helped Pacific Blue Cross design benefits that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.”
The plan is designed for British Columbia residents who do not have coverage under an employer sponsored group plan and who are planning for a family in the future. The company says the number of couples experiencing infertility had doubled since the 1980s. The average cost in Canada for one round of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments is between $10,000 and $20,000.
The plan’s options include those for comprehensive coverage of prescription drugs and mental health support; the company adds that enhanced coverage specifically covers registered clinical counsellors, psychologists and online cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). All levels of the plan include travel and life insurance.
