SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — California is set to mandate that companies with 100 or more employees cover the costs of diagnosing and treating infertility, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), starting in January 2026.
This new law aims to make fertility treatments more accessible to Californians, potentially easing the financial burden on those seeking to become parents.
“Everyone has the right to be a parent, but not everyone will have access to medical treatment in order to become a parent,” said Dr. Minoos Hosseinzadeh, founder of the Fertility Institute of San Diego.
Nellie Cortazzo, who always dreamed of being a mother, turned to fertility treatments after getting married at 35-years-old. After three rounds of treatment, she and her husband welcomed their daughter Cece in August 2021.
“It was a lot of heartache and a lot of expense,” Cortazzo said, noting they spent nearly $50,000 in total.
“We literally paid for everything out of pocket, doing it definitely drains your wallet in addition to your emotions and energy, obviously I couldn’t be more grateful for our outcome,” Cortazzo added.
“A lot of patients, it’s the financial burden that’s usually the biggest stumbling block to become a parent and I think once this pressure is lifted off more people will seek fertility care sooner rather than later,” Dr. Hosseinzadeh said.
Dr. Hosseinzadeh’s clinic is pioneering the use of new technology to assist in IVF. The Fertility Institute of San Diego is the first in the area to use the Embryoscope, an artificial intelligence tool that employs time-lapse photography to monitor embryo development, according to Dr. Hosseinzadeh. This technology allows doctors to identify the best embryos for transfer without disturbing their environment, potentially increasing the success rates of IVF treatments.
Dr. Hosseinzadeh has been helping her patients become parents for 25 years.
Her favorite part? “Holding my babies when they come back and the second best is hearing their heartbeat on the ultrasound for the first time, its just incredible and every time I do this, it feels like it’s the first time,” Dr. Hosseinzadeh said as her eyes welled up with tears. “It never gets old every patient has a unique individual story.. it’s just such a privilege to be able to help them.”
Her clinic welcomes patients from other countries, “their desire to have a child is so great they will do whatever it takes including travelling to another country to achieve their dream of becoming a parent,” Dr. Hosseinzadeh said. “We have patients from Europe, from Asia, from all over who come.”
With California’s new law and advancements in technology like the Embryoscope, more individuals may have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams of parenthood.
“It’s true what they say, it will change your life, you will never be the same,” Cortazzo said, reflecting on her journey to becoming a mother.
Original Video on Fox5 San Diego
https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/san-diego-clinic-first-in-the-area-to-offer-ivf-using-ai/
