President Donald Trump on Thursday announced two policy changes aimed at making in vitro fertilization more affordable \u2014 a long-awaited follow-up to his pledges to require health insurers to cover IVF services and to an executive order aimed at lowering the cost of fertility treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the announcement was not a new rule that insurers must cover IVF. Rather, the Trump administration said that the White House has negotiated with two specialty pharmacies and a drug manufacturer to lower the cost of a commonly prescribed fertility drug that stimulates the ovaries to produce eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, the administration announced forthcoming guidance from the Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services departments that will help employers offer fertility benefits outside of major medical health insurance plans, the same way they offer dental, vision or life insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe want to make it easier for all couples to have babies, raise children and start the families they have always dreamed about,\u201d Trump said at a briefing in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bulk of Thursday\u2019s announcement focused on discounted fertility medications from drugmaker EMD Serono, which is part of the pharmaceutical giant Merck. The company said it would make its IVF drugs available at a lower cost through TrumpRx, a direct-to-consumer website operated by the federal government, starting in early 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most IVF patients in the U.S. pay out of pocket for treatment, according to KFF, a nonprofit research group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are proud to announce that Americans will have access to our leading IVF therapies for an 84% discount off list prices,\u201d Libby Horne, head of U.S. fertility at EMD Serono, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company said Thursday in an online statement about the new agreement that its pharmaceutical products will be excluded from industry-specific tariffs, provided it invests in manufacturing and research in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the discounted drugs is a commonly used medication called Gonal-f, which some IVF patients take in the form of daily injections for roughly one or two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senior administration officials said the specialty pharmacies involved in the deal, CVS Specialty and Express Scripts\u2019 Freedom Fertility \u2014 which they estimated account for more than 80% of the distribution of Gonal-f \u2014 agreed to reduce their expenses associated with the drug\u2019s handling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUpwards of 40% of the cost of IVF comes from the specialty drugs used for this treatment. Reducing these costs can have a significant impact on affordability and access,\u201d Dr. Roger Shedlin, CEO of the fertility benefits company WIN, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Kaylen Silverberg, a fertility specialist and advisory board chair for the advocacy group Americans for IVF, said some of his patients have spent upwards of $17,000 out of pocket on fertility drugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is the first administration in 20 years that\u2019s even wanted to talk about this,\u201d he said, adding: “We turned on the president\u2019s news conference in my office today when he was making this announcement, and I had people standing there crying because they are so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s announcement came after months of relative silence from the White House on which policies it was considering to expand IVF access. The executive order he issued in February had called for recommendations for \u201cprotecting IVF access and aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment.\u201d Trump received a list of those recommendations in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new deal is part of Trump\u2019s broader effort to bring the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. more in line with the lowest prices charged in other wealthy countries \u2014 what\u2019s known as the \u201cmost favored nation\u201d pricing model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House has not yet negotiated lower prices on IVF drugs from other manufacturers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sean Tipton, chief advocacy and policy officer at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, which represents IVF providers, called the announcement a \u201ccrucial first step,\u201d but said it still doesn\u2019t go far enough to boost affordability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne executive action cannot, on its own, ensure that every patient who needs IVF \u2014 which for some represents the only option to have a child \u2014 can access it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For now, senior administration officials said, medications made by EMD Serono will be discounted on TrumpRx at varying levels depending on a buyer\u2019s income. Patients earning below 550% of the federal poverty level will be eligible for the more significant discount, the officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump campaigned last year on expanding IVF access, referring to himself at the time as the \u201cfather of IVF.\u201d However, some conservatives and anti-abortion groups see IVF as unethical because the process often involves discarding embryos that have genetic issues or aren\u2019t needed. The Washington Post reported in August that the administration had veered away from the idea of an IVF coverage requirement for health insurers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
EMD Serono is seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration for another fertility drug, Pergoveris, which is approved in Europe but not the U.S. Administration officials said on Thursday the FDA intends to give that application priority review status, which would expedite the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n