RICHMOND, Va. (VIRGINIA MERCURY) -A bill that can help people start and grow their families through fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization will become law, after Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed it along with several other measures he initially tried to amend, Virginia Mercury reports .

House Bill 1609 by Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, will require the Health Insurance Reform Commission (HIRC) to consider coverage for diagnosis and treatment of infertility and procedures like IVF in its 2025 review of essential health benefits covered by health insurance.

“The timing is actually really critical in that HIRC is about to do the essential health benefits plan,” Helmer said, adding that now the state will “have to look seriously” at whether to include infertility care in the health insurance coverage it offers Virginians.

When the legislature concluded the bulk of its work this past February, Youngkin then reviewed the bills that passed and weighed whether to sign, veto or seek amendments on them. Before signing Helmer’s bill, he tried to tweak it by including a provision for nongovernmental health insurance plan sponsors to opt out of potential coverage requirements for religious or ethical purposes. The legislature rejected this idea, punting it back to Youngkin, who recently approved it in its original form.

In his signature explanation, Youngkin called Helmer’s bill a “balanced approach” to expanding fertility care in the state because it didn’t outright mandate immediate coverage for the treatment.

Calling it an “interim step,” Youngkin commended the bill and said HIRC’s review of how infertility care coverage could be implemented can “ensure the General Assembly has the data, analysis and necessary input to make an informed decision in the future.”