David Adamson, MD, founder and CEO, ARC^® Fertility, a highly experienced national provider of innovative fertility and family-forming benefits for self-insured employers and their employees, has co-authored a new study published in the prestigious journal, Human Reproduction, whose novel findings can serve as a guide for self-insured employers to advance gender equality in improving access to assisted reproductive technology (ART).

“The U.S. is clearly falling behind other countries across several key metrics with regard to women’s health, but employers can help remedy the situation by offering meaningful benefits coverage that close huge care gaps,” he observes. “Employer-provided health insurance covers nearly 159 million working Americans, a growing number of whom participate in self-insured health plans. As such, businesses, along with their group insurance broker partners and purchasing alliances, play a pivotal role in helping provide healthcare that is both accessible and affordable for diverse employee populations and their families.”

The paper, “Gender inequality and utilization of ART: an international cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis,” appeared in Oxford University Press's academic research platform, which provides access to more than 40,000 books and 500 journals. It makes the case that gender equality is an important public health issue that boosts fertility rates and improves the lives of women. The United States shows serious deficits in three key interconnected statistics:

• Gender equality: 43rd out of 146 nations
• Women’s reproductive health: 15th among 25 low-risk countries
• Women’s healthcare: last among the 10 wealthiest nations 

By helping reverse these troubling trends, employers can do their part to address social determinants of health and achieve health equity across the workplace. “Reproductive rights are human rights, and access to fertility care is key to promoting the reproductive and sexual health of women everywhere, and the United States only stands to benefit from improving conditions for women,” says Adamson, a leading national authority on fertility issues in the employer space. “This correlation works both ways: as access to ART improves, we also see gains in women’s rights. Greater equality leads to increased access to reproductive care, which in turn fosters equality and expanding opportunities, influence and liberty for women worldwide.”

The study traces a direct link between a country’s Gender Inequality Index (GII) and Human Development Index (HDI) with the number of cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF). A one Standard Deviation decrease in GII is associated with a 59% increase in utilization of ART. Per capita income, the maternal mortality ratio, and female parliamentary ratio were all key predictors of access to reproductive care. Results were similar across different cultures, as ART utilization is associated with gender equality even after controlling for each country’s level of development.

The full report is available through Oxford University Press. Alongside Dr. Adamson, its authors are Oisín Fitzgerald, Silke Dyer, Fernando Zegers-Hochschild, Elena Keller and Georgina M Chambers.

About ARC^® Fertility

ARC^® Fertility was founded in 1997 from its founder’s passion to increase access to affordable, high-quality reproductive care for everyone. We are accomplishing our mission through our national network of top-tier fertility clinics and with the help of brokers and employers. ARC physicians deliver high-value fertility and family-forming employer benefits through evidence-based treatment packages and financing directly to patients. ARC Fertility has helped tens of thousands of people create the family of their dreams. https://www.arcfertility.com/

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