Ferring Pharmaceuticals Looks Nationwide to Garner Support for the Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvements Act of 2013

In honor of Veterans Day, Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. is expanding its outreach efforts on behalf of the Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvements Act of 2013. In partnership with RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, Ferring is tapping into its nationwide network of healthcare providers to garner support for the bill that would improve the reproductive assistance, adoption assistance and child care services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to severely wounded, ill, or injured veterans and their spouses.

Ferring's campaign, which was originally launched at the 2013 American Society for Reproductive Medicine/ International Federation of Fertility Societies Annual Meeting, is focused on encouraging healthcare providers to send a letter in support of the bill directly to their U.S. Senators and Representatives utilizing RESOLVE's Web-based template. 

"We are hopeful that our efforts will showcase the overwhelming support of the healthcare community for a bill that would reduce hardship for our veterans dealing with infertility," said Nick Hart, Business Unit Head for U.S. Reproductive Health for Ferring. "Knowing that medical benefits for active duty military and veterans do not currently include coverage for infertility treatments, we realized that we could do more as a company to garner support for this bill.  It is a small way to thank them for all they do for our country."

The bill was originally introduced to the Senate on January 24, 2013, by U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and was introduced to the House of Representatives on March 5, 2013 by U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (D-WA).  The bill has passed the Senate Veteran's Affairs Committee and awaits action in the House.

If passed, the Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvements Act of 2013 would expand services in the following ways:

• Inclusion of assisted reproductive technology (ART) in the treatment available to veterans
• Eligibility of family members or surrogates of a severely wounded veteran for the same fertility treatment and associated reproductive health care services that a veteran would be eligible for
• Provision of limited financial assistance to offset adoption costs
• Creation of a permanent program that provides child care to veterans seeking readjustment counseling at the VA's Vet Centers
• Improved outreach to women veterans by allowing its women veterans call center to accept incoming calls

For more information about the Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvements Act of 2013 visit:http://www.resolve.org/get-involved/women-veterans-and-other-health-care-improvements-act.html.

To learn more about Ferring's initiatives in reproductive health, visit www.ferringfertility.com.

About Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. 
Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven biopharmaceutical company devoted to identifying, developing and marketing innovative products in the fields of reproductive health, urology, gastroenterology, endocrinology and osteoarthritis. For more information, visit www.ferringUSA.com.