S. 2534 — Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2025

This section defines, for purposes of this title, (1) the term "active duty" as given in 10 U.S.C. §101(d)(1), and (2) the term "Armed Forces" as given in 10 U.S.C. §101(a)(4).

This section requires the Secretary of Defense to provide fertility treatment and counseling—defined to include preservation of oocytes, sperm, or embryos; artificial insemination; assisted reproductive technology such as in vitro fertilization (IVF); embryo genetic testing; fertility medications; gamete donation; and related services—to members of the Armed Forces and their spouses, partners, or gestational surrogates, without regard to the member's or spouse/partner's sex, sex characteristics, gender identity, sexual orientation, infertility diagnosis, or marital status. For IVF, coverage is limited to no more than three completed oocyte retrievals and unlimited embryo transfers. If a member cannot provide reproductive genetic material, the section requires the Secretary to allow use of donated material for such treatment and to pay or reimburse reasonable procurement costs. The section preserves the Secretary's existing authority to provide IVF benefits under 10 U.S.C. 1074(c)(4) (covering service-related infertility) but does not require the Secretary to source gestational surrogates or donated material. It defines "gestational surrogate" as an adult who is not the intended parent and enters a surrogacy agreement to carry a pregnancy via IVF using non-genetic gametes, and "partner" as an individual selected by the member to co-parent a child born from such treatment.

This section requires the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, to establish procedures for retrieving reproductive genetic material (e.g., sperm or oocytes) as soon as medically appropriate from active duty Armed Forces members whose fertility is potentially jeopardized by a service-related injury or illness, in order to preserve their medical options. The section further requires advance medical directives and military testamentary instruments to include questions on member consent to such procedures, as well as rights, ownership, and use of the retrieved material.

This section requires the Secretary of Defense to provide members of the Armed Forces on active duty, at no cost, with retrieval, testing, cryopreservation, shipping, and storage of their reproductive genetic material (such as sperm or oocytes) prior to deployment to a combat zone or a hazardous duty assignment (including those resulting in exposure to perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances, or as otherwise determined by the Secretary). Such services must continue until one year after the member's retirement, separation, or release from the Armed Forces, after which the member may elect to continue storage in the government facility at their own expense or transfer the material to a private facility (including via an advance medical directive or military testamentary instrument). Members electing this benefit must complete an advance medical directive and military testamentary instrument specifying use of the material if they die or lose capacity to consent.

This section requires the Secretary of Defense to ensure that Department of Defense employees assist members of the Armed Forces with reproductive and fertility preservation services under this title by (1) navigating such services, (2) finding a provider that meets the member's needs, and (3) continuing receipt of such services without interruption during a permanent change of station.

This section directs the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to share best practices and facilitate referrals, as appropriate, for fertility treatment and counseling provided to eligible service members and veterans. It further requires the secretaries to enter into a memorandum of understanding that (1) coordinates fertility preservation care and ensures continuation of coverage without interruption for members of the Armed Forces transitioning to veteran status, and (2) authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to compensate the Department of Defense for cryopreservation, transportation, and storage of veterans' reproductive genetic material under section 104(b)(2)(A).

This section establishes a new VA requirement to furnish fertility treatment and counseling—defined to include oocyte/sperm/embryo preservation, artificial insemination, assisted reproductive technology (e.g., in vitro fertilization), embryo genetic testing, fertility medications, gamete donation, and related services—to enrolled veterans (covered veterans) and their spouses, partners, gamete donors, or gestational surrogates upon informed consent, without regard to the veteran's or spouse/partner's sex, sexual characteristics, gender identity, sexual orientation, infertility diagnosis, or marital status. For in vitro fertilization, VA covers up to three completed oocyte retrievals and unlimited embryo transfers; copayments apply if otherwise required of the veteran. If a covered veteran cannot provide reproductive genetic material, VA must allow use of consented donated material and pay or reimburse reasonable procurement costs (including veteran travel and incidentals); VA conducts outreach and training on the benefit but assumes no ownership, custody, or dispute resolution role for such material, which remains the responsibility of the veteran, related parties, and private storage facilities. VA is not required to find or connect gestational surrogates or furnish additional maternity care beyond existing law.

This section establishes a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adoption assistance program under which the Secretary may pay covered veterans (as defined in 38 U.S.C. 1720M(f), generally veterans with service-connected infertility eligible for VA fertility treatment) an amount not to exceed the cost of three adoptions, as determined by the Secretary, to assist in adopting one or more children. Such assistance is provided without regard to the covered veteran's sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or marital status.

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that Department of Veterans Affairs employees assist veterans with (1) navigating reproductive and fertility preservation services provided under this title and the amendments made by this title, (2) finding a provider that meets such veterans' needs for those services, and (3) continuing receipt of those services without interruption if the veterans move to a different geographic location.

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to facilitate research conducted collaboratively by the Secretaries of Defense and Health and Human Services to improve the Department of Veterans Affairs' ability to meet the long-term reproductive health care needs of veterans with conditions affecting reproduction. The section further requires the Secretary to disseminate useful information from the research throughout the Veterans Health Administration.

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to prescribe regulations to implement VA fertility treatment and counseling benefits (new 38 U.S.C. §1720M, added by section 202(a)) and adoption assistance (new 38 U.S.C. §1790, added by section 203(a)), not later than two years after enactment.