2026 Employee Benefits Market Outlook 17 Fertility Benefits on the Rise The market for employer-provided fertility benefits is entering a period of expansion, driven largely by regu- latory guidance and strong evidence that these benefits are important for employee attraction and retention. With infertility being recognized as a disease by the World Health Organization and the American Medical Association since 2017 and affecting 1 in 6 people globally, employers are increasingly considering fer- tility coverage as a critical component of their benefits package. According to the Maven Clinics 2025 State of Womens and Family Health Benefits report, 2 in 3 employers plan to invest in family health benefits within the next three years, a 44% increase since 2024. This surge is largely due to the positive impact family-building benefits can have on employees mental health, performance and loyalty. Regulatory developments have also played a key role in driving expansion. Increasing access to and reducing costs for infertility treatmentboth for employees cur- rently experiencing infertility and for those seeking coverage for potential future challengeshas been a stated priority of the Trump administration. In February 2025, an executive order directed agencies to develop policy recommendations to expand in vitro fertiliza-tion (IVF) access and reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment. Following that direc- tive, in October 2025, the White House announced drug pricing reforms for fertility medications through a new government website, TrumpRx.gov (expected to be operational in 2026), and stated that the FDA will prioritize review of lower-cost fertility drugs. The announcement also cited new guidance clarifying how employers can offer stand-alone fertility benefit packages outside of traditional group health plans. Specifically, the U.S. Departments of Labor, HHS, and the Treasury jointly issued guidance clarifying how employers can offer fertility benefits using existing cate- gories of excepted benefits. These benefits are exempt from HIPAAs portability rules, such as special enroll- ment rights and nondiscrimination provisions, as well as ACA market reforms, including annual limit bans and preventive care mandates. The October 2025 guidance outlines three primary options for employers to offer stand-alone benefit packages outside of traditional group health plans: Fertility benefits as an independent, noncoordinated excepted benefitEmployers may provide fertility benefits through a sepa- rate, fully insured policy if there is no coordination between the fertility benefit and exclusions under any other group health plan maintained by the same employer, and the benefits are payable regardless of coverage under other plans. Excepted benefit health reimbursement arrangement (EBHRA)Employers can reim- burse employees for out-of-pocket fertility expenses through an EBHRA, provided the arrangement complies with applicable regulatory requirements. Employee assistance program (EAP)Employers may offer fertility-related coaching and navigator services through an EAP that qualifies as a limited excepted benefit. To qualify, the EAP cannot be coordinated with benefits under another group health plan, cannot require employee pre- miums or contributions for participation, and cannot impose cost sharing.