President Trump on Thursday announced a pair of efforts aimed at expanding access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) as he seeks to deliver on a major campaign promise.
Trump in the Oval Office announced that his administration was issuing guidance that would allow employers to offer IVF coverage as a benefit as part of company insurance plans. He also announced an agreement intended to lower the cost of a popular fertility drug.
Administration officials said the updated guidance from the Department of Labor, the Treasury and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would make opting into fertility benefits similar to opting in for dental or vision benefits as part of an employer’s insurance plan.
The guidance does not require employers to offer a fertility benefit, and a senior administration official acknowledged it would take time for interested employers to implement.
The administration official said premium costs for any fertility benefit would be dependent on factors including a specific employer’s contributions and which benefits they offer.
A number of the administration’s health care initiatives have so far relied on the voluntary participation of companies, like phasing out artificial food dyes and Trump’s “Most Favored Nation” policy to lower prescription drug costs.
In addition, Trump said his administration had reached an agreement with EMD Serono to offer its fertility drugs including GONAL-F as part of a “Most Favored Nation” plan that stipulates certain medications cannot be sold to Americans for more than the highest price overseas.
“EMD Serono, the largest fertility drug manufacturer in the world, has agreed to provide massive discounts to all fertility drugs they sell in the United States,” Trump said.
GONAL-F is a hormone injection that causes multiple eggs to develop and release as part of assisted reproductive procedures like IVF.
The announcement comes after Trump, who’s billed himself as the “fertilization president,” signed an executive order in February directing federal agencies to find ways to lower the cost of IVF.
The president had on the campaign trail said that if elected, the government or insurance companies would cover the cost of IVF, which can cost between $15,000 and $20,000 for a single cycle. That proposal drew skepticism from even some Republicans, who questioned how the government would afford such costs.
IVF was thrust into the national spotlight during the 2024 presidential campaign when the Supreme Court of Alabama ruled that frozen embryos could be considered the same as children.
This ruling caused IVF services in Alabama to come to a halt as clinics determined it was too risky to operate when they could be sued for disposing of unused embryos. The Alabama legislature ultimately had to pass legislation to protect IVF providers.
Democrats pinned blame on Trump for the development, characterizing it as a natural progression of his Supreme Court nominees helping to overturn Roe v. Wade.
GOP lawmakers were caught in a difficult spot as many agreed that embryos should be considered the same as children while not wanting to limit access to IVF. Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence was particularly vocal; he and his wife used IVF themselves to have children.
Democrats zeroed in on this vulnerability leading up to the election last year, bringing up legislation that would have created a federal right to in-vitro fertilization and guaranteed insurance coverage of IVF and other fertility treatments. The effort was blocked multiple times by Republicans who derided the calls as show votes.
IVF usually involves creating numerous embryos to increase the chances of a successful pregnancy. In many cases, unused frozen embryos are disposed of, donated for scientific research or donated to couples unable to produce viable embryos. Trump’s support of IVF could put him at odds with anti-abortion hardliners.
But some of the Trump administration’s actions have been seemingly contrary to Trump’s fertility support.
After Trump’s second term began, Department of Government Efficiency-induced layoffs at HHS directly impacted offices that deal with reproductive medicine, seemingly going against Trump’s stated aims of boosting fertility.
“We fully expected that the team would be brought back once there was awareness that it had been eliminated. But as time has gone on, apparently there’s no intention of bringing anyone back,” said a former staffer at the time, incredulous as to how the self-proclaimed “leader on fertilization” could lay off three-quarters of the reproductive health division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
