Sec. 233.

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Subchapter II of chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section (and conforming the table of sections at the beginning of such chapter accordingly): Pursuant to regulations the Secretary shall prescribe to carry out this subsection, the Secretary may provide infertility counseling and treatment, using assisted reproductive technology, including in vitro fertilization, intrauterine insemination, and other advanced reproductive technologies, to the following:

A veteran— who is enrolled in the system of annual patient enrollment established and operated under section 1705 of this title; and who, in the judgment of a health care professional of the Department— has a service-connected disability or condition causing or aggravating infertility; or is infertile as a result of having received medically necessary treatment pursuant to this chapter. The spouse of a veteran described in subparagraph (A), or the partner of a veteran described in subparagraph

(A)whom the veteran designates for purposes of this subsection. The Secretary may contract with a provider of in vitro fertilization services to obtain donor gametes or embryos from third-party donors. The Secretary may only obtain third-party donation of gametes or embryos through a contract. The Secretary may not provide assisted reproductive technology services or medical services to third-party donors. The Secretary may contract with a facility to furnish the cryopreservation, storage, and transportation of gametes and embryos. The Secretary may not impose any limitation on the period in which an embryo or gamete is cryopreserved and stored pursuant to this subsection. The legal status, custody, future use, donation, disposition, or destruction, of gametes or embryos relating to infertility or treatment furnished under this subsection shall be determined in accordance with the law of the State in which the gametes or embryos are located. In prescribing regulations to carry out this subsection, the Secretary shall ensure that any in vitro fertilization (including with respect to the number of retrieval attempts and completed embryo transfer cycles) will be— determined using the best medical evidence available; and provided in accordance with applicable standards of care. In furnishing in vitro fertilization to a covered individual pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary is responsible only for payment of the costs of the in vitro fertilization services. The Secretary may not furnish an in vitro fertilization cycle to a covered individual under this subsection unless the Secretary receives consent for such cycle from each of the following: The covered individual. If the covered individual is a spouse or partner of a veteran as described in subparagraph (1)(B), the veteran. If applicable, the third-party donor. In this subsection: The term covered individual means a veteran, spouse, or partner who receives infertility counseling and treatment under paragraph (1). The term gamete means a mature sperm or an oocyte or egg germ cell, as applicable. The term infertility means the inability to procreate without the use of infertility treatment. The term in vitro fertilization means the procedure in which an oocyte is removed from a mature ovarian follicle and fertilized by a sperm cell outside the human body and, at the appropriate time, transferred into the uterus. The term third-party donor means an individual who consents to donate the gametes or embryo of the individual for use in treatment furnished pursuant to this subsection. Pursuant to regulations the Secretary shall prescribe to carry out this subsection, the Secretary may reimburse an eligible veteran for qualifying adoption expenses incurred by the veteran in the adoption of a child. For purposes of this subsection, an eligible veteran is a veteran who meets the following criteria: The veteran is enrolled in the system of annual patient enrollment established and operated under section 1705 of this title. The veteran, in the judgment of the health care professional of the Department— has a service-connected disability or condition causing or aggravating infertility; or is infertile as a result of having received medically necessary treatment pursuant to this chapter. An adoption for which expenses may be reimbursed under this subsection includes an adoption by a single person, an infant adoption, an intercountry adoption, or an adoption of a child with special needs (as defined in section 473(c) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 673(c) )). The Secretary may reimburse an eligible veteran for qualifying adoption expenses under this subsection only after the adoption is final. The Secretary may not reimburse an eligible veteran for qualifying adoption expenses under this subsection for any expense paid to or for the veteran under any other adoption benefits program administered by the Federal Government or under any such program administered by a State or local government. The Secretary may not reimburse an eligible veteran, or two eligible veterans who are partners, for qualifying adoption expenses under this subsection for more than one adoption. The Secretary may not reimburse more than one eligible veteran for the qualifying adoption expenses under this subsection for the adoption of the same child. In prescribing regulations to carry out this subsection, the Secretary shall establish minimum and maximum amounts for the reimbursement of qualifying adoption expenses. In this subsection: Notwithstanding section 101 of this title, the term child means an individual who is under the age of eighteen years. The term qualified adoption agency means— a State or local government agency that has responsibility under State or local law for child placement through adoption; a nonprofit, voluntary adoption agency that is authorized by State or local law to place children for adoption; any other source authorized by a State to provide adoption placement if the adoption is supervised by a court under State or local law; or a foreign government or an agency authorized by a foreign government to place children for adoption, in any case in which— the adopted child is entitled to automatic citizenship under section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1431 ); or a certificate of citizenship has been issued for such child under section 322 of that Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1433 ). The term qualifying adoption expenses means reasonable and necessary expenses that are directly related to the legal adoption of a child, but only if such adoption is arranged by a qualified adoption agency. Such term does not include any expense incurred— by an adopting parent for travel; or in connection with an adoption arranged in violation of Federal, State, or local law. The term reasonable and necessary expenses includes— public and private agency fees, including adoption fees charged by an agency in a foreign country; placement fees, including fees charged adoptive parents for counseling; legal fees (including court costs) or notary expenses; and medical expenses, including hospital expenses of the biological mother of the child to be adopted and of a newborn infant to be adopted. .

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U.S. Code

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Sec. 233

U.S.C.§ 673

U.S.C.§ 1431

U.S.C.§ 1433

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