A former New York City assistant district attorney and his husband are suing the city, claiming its health plan discriminates against gay male couples by denying them coverage of in vitro fertilization benefits.
The city plan's definition of "infertile" violates federal, state, and city civil rights law by excluding gay male couples, while including gay female couples and different-sex couples, former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Corey Briskin and husband Nicholas Maggipinto argue in a
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The lawsuit raises bigger questions about who qualifies for fertility-related care under employer-sponsored plans, an issue that's taken on more significance since the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Bostock v. Clayton County decision that affirmed protections for LGBTQ+ employees under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
At least two federal court decisions, one in California and another in Illinois, have since said that a health-care plan that excludes IVF for same-sex couples or imposes greater costs for them to use it than other couples can be deemed discriminatory, according to Thursday's complaint.
The New York City health plan cited in the suit, which also seeks an injunction ending the city's current policy on IVF coverage for gay males, defines "infertility" as the inability to conceive through male-female sexual intercourse or through intrauterine insemination for 12 months.
"In this case, the City of New York has not just made it harder for gay men like Mr. Briskin and Mr. Maggipinto to qualify for IVF benefits," the complaint says, "the City has made it impossible for gay men to qualify for IVF benefits."
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The New York City health care plan covers 75% the costs of IVF, including associated tests and procedures, according to the complaint.
Briskin and Maggipinto said they successfully created embryos last year without the plan's coverage.
The couple previously filed a discrimination charge with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April 2022, and was given a "right to sue" letter from the Department of Justice, their complaint said.
The city argued in a position statement following the EEOC charge that the two were asking for benefits related to a surrogate — which are not covered — but Briskin and Maggipinto countered they were only asking for coverage of egg retrieval and fertilization in the same manner that the service is covered for other couples.
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Briskin left the city to clerk for a federal judge in January 2022, but he and Maggipinto remain covered under the city plan through COBRA.
The complaint says the city's health-care policy violates Title VII, the New York State and City Human Rights Laws, and the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the U.S. and New York State Constitutions. It names former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and current Mayor Eric Adams in addition to the city itself.
