[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 273 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 273

  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an income tax 
        credit for the costs of certain infertility treatments.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 2017

Mr. Lewis of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an income tax 
        credit for the costs of certain infertility treatments.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Family Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The American Society of Reproductive Medicine 
        recognizes infertility as a disease, and the Centers for 
        Disease Control and Prevention have described infertility as an 
        emerging public health priority in the United States. Globally, 
        the World Health Organization also formally recognizes 
        infertility as a disease.
            (2) According to the National Survey of Family Growth of 
        the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 
        3,000,000 women in the United States had trouble conceiving or 
        carrying a pregnancy to term.
            (3) A portion of those 3,000,000 women are cancer survivors 
        who were diagnosed as infants, children, or young adults. Their 
        treatments included chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery which 
        have led to irreparable damage to their reproductive systems.
            (4) Military families notably are also impacted by 
        infertility as a result of lower extremity war injuries arising 
        from the perils of modern warfare. For active duty individuals, 
        frequent changes in permanent duty station, combat deployments, 
        and training rotations complicate access to fertility 
        treatments. In addition, active duty individuals or veterans 
        have no coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF) through their 
        military health insurance and must pay out of pocket for those 
        expenses, even within military treatment facilities.
            (5) For many, the cost of treatment for the disease of 
        infertility is prohibitive. According to the American Society 
        for Reproductive Medicine, the cost per cycle of IVF is 
        approximately $12,500, and on average couples require at least 
        2 cycles. Many couples have to choose between their desire to 
        establish a family and their future financial well-being.
            (6) Medical insurance coverage for infertility treatments 
        is sparse and inconsistent at the State level. Only 8 States 
        have passed laws to require comprehensive infertility coverage, 
        and under those State laws employer-sponsored plans are exempt; 
        therefore, coverage for treatments such as IVF is limited. 
        According to Mercer's 2005 National Survey of Employer-
        Sponsored Health Plans, IVF was voluntarily covered by 19 
        percent of large employer-sponsored health plans and only 11 
        percent of small employer-sponsored health plans. Even in 
        States with coverage mandates, out-of-pocket expenses for these 
        treatments are significant.
            (7) According to the latest National Survey of Family 
        Growth, African-American and Hispanic women are more likely to 
        be infertile than Caucasian women, yet studies indicate that 
        they are less likely to use infertility services.

SEC. 3. CREDIT FOR CERTAIN INFERTILITY TREATMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting before 
section 24 the following new section:

``SEC. 23A. CREDIT FOR CERTAIN INFERTILITY TREATMENTS.

    ``(a) Allowance of Credit.--In the case of an eligible individual, 
there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this 
chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to 50 percent of the 
qualified infertility treatment expenses paid or incurred during the 
taxable year.
    ``(b) Limitations.--
            ``(1) Dollar limitation.--The amount of the credit under 
        subsection (a) for any taxable year shall not exceed the excess 
        (if any) of--
                    ``(A) the dollar amount in effect under section 
                23(b)(1) for the taxable year, over
                    ``(B) the aggregate amount of the credits allowed 
                under subsection (a) for all preceding taxable years.
            ``(2) Income limitation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The amount otherwise allowable 
                as a credit under subsection (a) for any taxable year 
                (determined after the application of paragraph (1) and 
                without regard to this paragraph and subsection (c)) 
                shall be reduced (but not below zero) by an amount 
                which bears the same ratio to the amount so allowable 
                as--
                            ``(i) the amount (if any) by which the 
                        taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds the 
                        dollar amount in effect under clause (i) of 
                        section 23(b)(2)(A), bears to
                            ``(ii) $40,000.
                    ``(B) Determination of adjusted gross income.--For 
                purposes of subparagraph (A), adjusted gross income 
                shall be determined without regard to sections 911, 
                931, and 933.
            ``(3) Denial of double benefit.--
                    ``(A) In general.--No credit shall be allowed under 
                subsection (a) for any expense for which a deduction or 
                credit is taken under any other provision of this 
                chapter.
                    ``(B) Grants.--No credit shall be allowed under 
                subsection (a) for any expense to the extent that 
                reimbursement or other funds in compensation for such 
                expense are received under any Federal, State, or local 
                program.
                    ``(C) Insurance reimbursement.--No credit shall be 
                allowed under subsection (a) for any expense to the 
                extent that payment for such expense is made, or 
                reimbursement for such expense is received, under any 
                insurance policy.
    ``(c) Carryforwards of Unused Credit.--
            ``(1) Rule for years in which all personal credits allowed 
        against regular and alternative minimum tax.--If the credit 
        allowable under subsection (a) exceeds the limitation imposed 
        by section 26(a)(2) for such taxable year reduced by the sum of 
        the credits allowable under this subpart (other than this 
        section), such excess shall be carried to the succeeding 
        taxable year and added to the credit allowable under subsection 
        (a) for such succeeding taxable year.
            ``(2) Limitation.--No credit may be carried forward under 
        this subsection to any taxable year after the 5th taxable year 
        after the taxable year in which the credit arose. For purposes 
        of the preceding sentence, credits shall be treated as used on 
        a first-in, first-out basis.
    ``(d) Qualified Infertility Treatment Expenses.--For purposes of 
this section:
            ``(1) In general.--The term `qualified infertility 
        treatment expenses' means amounts paid or incurred for the 
        treatment of infertility via in vitro fertilization if such 
        treatment is--
                    ``(A) provided by a licensed physician, licensed 
                surgeon, or other licensed medical practitioner, and
                    ``(B) administered with respect to a diagnosis of 
                infertility by a physician licensed in the United 
                States.
            ``(2) Treatments in advance of infertility arising from 
        medical treatments.--In the case of expenses incurred in 
        advance of a diagnosis of infertility for fertility 
        preservation procedures which are conducted prior to medical 
        procedures that, as determined by a physician licensed in the 
        United States, may cause involuntary infertility or 
        sterilization, such expenses shall be treated as qualified 
        infertility treatment expenses--
                    ``(A) notwithstanding paragraph (1)(B), and
                    ``(B) without regard to whether a diagnosis of 
                infertility subsequently results.
        Expenses for fertility preservation procedures in advance of a 
        procedure designed to result in infertility or sterilization 
        shall not be treated as qualified infertility treatment 
        expenses.
            ``(3) Infertility.--The term `infertility' means the 
        inability to conceive or to carry a pregnancy to live birth, 
        including iatrogenic infertility resulting from medical 
        treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. Such 
        term does not include infertility or sterilization resulting 
        from a procedure designed for such purpose.
    ``(e) Eligible Individual.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`eligible individual' means an individual--
            ``(1) who has been diagnosed with infertility by a 
        physician licensed in the United States, or
            ``(2) with respect to whom a physician licensed in the 
        United States has made the determination described in 
        subsection (d)(2).
    ``(f) Married Couples Must File Joint Returns.--Rules similar to 
the rules of paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of section 21(e) shall apply 
for purposes of this section.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) The table of sections for subpart A of part IV of 
        subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
        is amended by inserting before the item relating to section 24 
        the following new item:

``Sec. 23A. Credit for certain infertility treatments.''.
            (2) Section 23(c)(1) of such Code is amended by striking 
        ``25D'' and inserting ``23A, 25D,''.
            (3) Section 25(e)(1)(C) of such Code is amended by 
        inserting ``23A,'' before ``25D,''.
            (4) Section 25D(c) of such Code is amended by inserting 
        ``and section 23A'' after ``other than this section''.
            (5) Section 1400C(d) of such Code is amended by striking 
        ``section 25D'' and inserting ``sections 23A and 25D''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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