Brooke Green — Representative Green pointed to someone in the audience who wanted to testify.
Brooke Green — Provides closing comments and says the issue is personal because of her own cancer diagnosis.
Brooke Green — Addressed by Representative Healy in her response.
Brooke Green — Responds that other treatments can also cause infertility and says she was crafting the legislation with that in mind.
Brooke Green — Representative Green responded that philanthropy does not cover the full costs and patients still face significant out-of-pocket expenses.
Brooke Green — Representative Green said patients still face thousands of dollars in costs and that provider practices vary across Idaho.
Brooke Green — Representative Green was addressed with a question about the number of people affected.
Brooke Green — Representative Green said the estimated state cost would be about $150,000 and that only up to 20 patients were anticipated.
Brooke Green — Representative Green was asked to come back with information about the premium impact.
Brooke Green — Representative Green said the premium increase would be very small because the cost is spread across everyone.
Brooke Green — Representative Green was thanked for bringing the issue forward.
Brooke Green — The speaker said Representative Green's remarks were valid.
Dr. Rihanna Menon — Dr. Rihanna Menon introduces herself as a fellowship-trained breast surgeon representing herself and her patients in Idaho, then explains the emotional and medical burden of telling patients they have a potentially life-threatening illness requiring chemotherapy. She describes the urgent need to arrange fertility preservation quickly before treatment begins, noting that it can cost many thousands of dollars, often must be paid upfront, and is unaffordable for many women.
Ilana Rubel — Asks about the standard range of cost and out-of-pocket burden.
Ilana Rubel — Representative Rubel was recognized during the motion period and then moved to hold the bill in committee, rather than sending it to the floor, at the sponsor's request.
Dr. Kristen Slater — Dr. Kristen Slater introduced herself as a Boise-based board-certified reproductive endocrinology and OB-GYN specialist and explained her long-standing focus on fertility and family building. She then outlined fertility preservation as a medical, ethical, legal, and economic issue, giving cost estimates for sperm banking, storage, and egg freezing, noting her office’s discounts and philanthropic support, and arguing the overall cost is small compared with cancer treatment. She described fertility preservation as standard-of-care counseling for cancer patients because chemotherapy and radiation can cause infertility, emphasized the narrow time window patients have to decide, and framed preservation as preventative medicine that supports long-term survivorship and quality of life. She concluded that the premium impact would be minimal, that coverage is already common for many patients through employers, and that insurance should cover fertility preservation as the right thing to do.
Josh Wheeler — Representative Josh Wheeler asked Dr. Slater about insurance coverage for fertility preservation, first seeking a general sense of whether the service is covered and then asking what percentage of insurance providers already cover it.
Dr. Slater — Continues explaining why fertility coverage is viewed differently from other medical reconstruction or trauma-related coverage.
Dr. Slater — Explains that iatrogenic infertility means infertility caused by medical treatment.
Dr. Slater — Says employers generally cover infertility without regard to cause and estimates about 40% of patients now have coverage.
Dr. Slater — Explains that waiting six months after chemotherapy avoids increased birth defects or congenital anomalies.
Dr. Slater — Continues explaining why treatment timing requires waiting six months after chemotherapy.
Dr. Slater — Says few patients seek fertility preservation and that cancer diagnosis overwhelms them.
Dr. Slater — Says telehealth consults are available, but barriers remain, especially diagnosis overwhelm and finances.
Dr. Slater — Is addressed by the member regarding storage facilities.
Dr. Slater — Explains the clinic stores reproductive tissue for five years and charges annual storage fees.
Dr. Slater — Explains why egg storage costs more and why the clinic encourages off-site storage after five years.
Dr. Slater — Says the clinic encourages off-site storage because of liability and growth, then explains consent for disposition of stored tissue.
Dr. Slater — Explains options for disposition of stored tissue and says the clinic has never destroyed tissue even when fees are unpaid.
Dr. Slater — Responds that the clinic is committed to maintaining its discount philosophy.
Dr. Slater — Says the clinic likely will keep its discount policy for the next 10 years, though retirement could change things.
Dr. Slater — Says the 50% discount is unlikely to change and notes philanthropic support and small patient numbers.
Dr. Slater — Explains that free medications are not guaranteed and gives worst-case cost estimates for egg freezing.
Dr. Slater — Explained that Idaho's population may be too small to support more fertility clinics right now, though it could change in the future.
Dr. Slater — Her team met with Dr. Slater's team within 24 hours of diagnosis.
Dr. Slater — She said she worked with Dr. Slater for several years.
Dori Healey — Representative Egbert questions the witness about reproductive harms from chemotherapy and radiation beyond infertility, then continues by raising concerns about the cost and geographic access to fertility preservation services in Idaho, noting that some areas may lack access entirely. The exchange remains focused on fertility preservation and related access issues throughout.
Dori Healey — Representative Healy raises a question about whether mandating infertility coverage for one group could create pressure to extend coverage to other women with infertility caused by different medical reasons. The discussion remains focused on the broader implications of the mandate, with a brief follow-up as she continues to consider the issue.
Dori Healey — Representative Dori Healey responds to Representative Green, thanking the chair and indicating that she has questions and concerns, with Green then directly addressing her as the discussion continues.
Rob Beiswenger — Asks whether the clinic's 50% discounts would still apply if the insurance department proposal passes.
Rob Beiswenger — Representative Byswinger raised a question about whether a mandate would reduce charitable giving and philanthropy.
Rob Beiswenger — The speaker asked whether Representative Furman had a question.
Heather Scott — Representative Healy is recognized and asks a quick question about how many IVF fertility clinics are in Idaho.
Heather Scott — The speaker addressed Representative Healy/Haley and said he would run the numbers and then come back with the information.
Heather Scott — The speaker said Representative Healy's point was valid.
Doctor — Responded to a question about whether insurance coverage would encourage more fertility clinics to come to Idaho.
Maximilian Osland / Oslin (questionable spelling) — Introduced as the next in-person witness; the chair acknowledged the name may have been mispronounced or misspelled.
Maximilian Oslin — Maximilian Oslin introduced himself and shared his personal story of being diagnosed with testicular cancer at age 27. He described the rapid sequence of events from diagnosis to surgery, his honeymoon and follow-up scan, and then the short 25-day window before chemotherapy during which he had numerous doctor visits and had to make urgent fertility decisions, including sperm storage, amid significant emotional turmoil.
Shailen Pease — Introduced as the next virtual witness.
Shailen Piz / Pease (questionable spelling) — Began virtual testimony and identified herself as representing herself; the transcript contains conflicting spellings of her name.