By Daniel Wiessner
       May 3 (Reuters) - Aetna will pay $2 million and update
its coverage policies to settle a lawsuit claiming the health
insurer required LGBTQ beneficiaries to pay more out of pocket
for fertility treatments than heterosexual people, according to
a Friday court filing. 
    Lawyers for four people who in 2021 sued Aetna, a subsidiary
of CVS Health Corp        , asked a Manhattan federal court to
approve the settlement, in which the company agreed to establish
a new standard health benefit plan that covers artificial
insemination regardless of sexual orientation. 
    Previously, Aetna required heterosexual couples simply to
represent that they had tried for six or 12 months to get
pregnant before covering fertility treatments. 
    But couples who could not conceive through intercourse first
had to pay for treatments out of pocket for up to a year before
they were covered, according to court filings. 
    Aetna denied wrongdoing in the settlement. In a statement,
the company said it is "committed to providing quality care to
all individuals regardless of their sexual orientation or gender
identity and pleased to reach a resolution to this matter."
    Under the settlement, Aetna will establish a $2 million fund
to reimburse beneficiaries for out-of-pocket expenses they
incurred under the old policy. The company also agreed to
re-process eligible claims for coverage and modify its clinical
policies to ensure equal access to fertility treatments. 
    Emma Goidel, the lead plaintiff in the case, called the
settlement "a big win for queer families" in a statement
provided by her lawyers. Goidel claims she and her spouse were
forced to spend nearly $45,000 on fertility treatments as a
result of Aetna's policy.
    A spokeswoman for the National Women's Law Center, which
represents Goidel and the other plaintiffs, said that similar
discriminatory coverage policies are "an industry-wide problem"
and that the group hopes other insurers will follow Aetna's
lead. 

 (Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by
Alexia Garamfalvi and Cynthia Osterman)