President Trump’s plan would require lowering costs and eliminating red tape for infertility treatments for employers who want to expand access for workers.
Trump executive order aims to make IVF and infertility treatments more affordable
President Donald Trump’s executive order aims to explore how in vitro fertilization and other infertility treatments can be made more affordable.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump announced a plan aimed at expanding access to IVF, aiming to fulfill a 2024 campaign promise by launching a new initiative to reduce IVF costs for families.
The plan, announced by President Trump in the Oval Office on October 17, also calls for eliminating red tape for employers who want to expand access for millions of Americans seeking surgical coverage. However, insurance companies would not be required to cover IFV services, a proposal he supported.
Under the agreement, EMD Serono, the largest U.S. manufacturer of fertility drugs, agreed to reduce drug prices by 42% to 79% under the Most Favored Nation Pricing Agreement. President Trump said this includes lowering the price of Gonal F, a drug that stimulates the ovaries to produce healthy eggs.
The drug is expected to be available in early 2026 through TrumpRx, a website that allows some prescription drugs to be sold directly to consumers. The discount amount is based on the patient’s income.
“There is no greater happiness or joy than raising children, and the millions of Americans who struggle with infertility will have a new opportunity to share their greatest experience,” President Trump said.
In vitro fertilization involves a technique in which eggs and sperm are combined to form embryos in a laboratory.
President Trump’s plan also aims to reduce costs for employers and their workers who are seeking more affordable options for IVF, which can cost between $20,000 and $30,000 per cycle.
The Trump administration plans to expand coverage of infertility treatments for employees and ease restrictions for employers who want to cut costs. The policy would give employers the option to offer infertility treatment as a benefit not tied to medical insurance, similar to how companies offer additional coverage options for dental, vision, and life insurance.
With negotiated savings, eligible consumers can expect to save between $1,200 and $1,900 per cycle, depending on income. This discount is available to individuals with incomes up to 550% of the federal poverty level, or approximately $86,000 per year.
President Trump’s plan is less ambitious than his IVF campaign promise
The federal Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services plan to issue guidance that will allow employers to offer infertility treatment as a benefit independent of health insurance, a senior government official said.
These guidelines will allow companies to provide infertility treatment benefits directly to workers who request them. This will give employers a better idea of how much such benefits cost, and give workers the option to purchase them, government officials said.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, President Trump embraced IFV and promised to expand access to it, seeking to fend off attacks from Democrats who argued that the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade, aided by Trump’s appointment of three conservative justices, had put IVF treatment in jeopardy in some states.
On the campaign trail, Trump called himself the “father of in vitro fertilization.”
At an Oct. 16 Oval Office event, when asked what his message was to pro-life conservatives who religiously oppose IVF, President Trump replied, “I think this is very pro-life. You can’t get more pro-life than this.”
On February 18, President Trump signed an executive order directing his administration to develop a list of recommendations within 90 days to “protect access to IVF and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health insurance costs for IVF treatment.” The White House missed its May deadline.
As of 2024, about half of employers with 500 or more employees were covering IVF as part of their employer health insurance plans, according to benefits consultant Mercer. Coverage was more common among large companies. Mercer said 70% of employers with more than 20,000 workers offered IVF coverage to workers and their dependents.
A recent study shows that fertility coverage is one of the most sought-after benefits for young people in the workforce. According to a study by Maven Clinic, a virtual clinic for women and family health, one survey found that 69% of employees have taken, are considering, or are likely to take a new job to advance their reproductive and family interests.
In a separate study by Gallagher, an insurance and benefits consulting firm, 63% of nearly 700 employees surveyed said they would change jobs for better benefits.
A 2024 study by KFF, a health policy nonprofit, found that about 13% of women of reproductive age said they or their partner needed fertility support services at some point. 14% of these women said they had undergone in vitro fertilization, a type of assisted reproductive technology in which eggs and sperm are combined to form embryos in a laboratory.
President Trump’s IVF plan was announced 16 days after a federal government shutdown that Democrats used to highlight rising health care costs. Democrats are refusing to vote in favor of any Republican-backed government reopening bill unless it reverses recent Republicans’ Medicaid cuts and extends expiring subsidies in the Affordable Care Act.
X Contact Joey Garrison at @joeygarrison.
