President Donald Trump on Thursday announced two policy changes aimed at making in vitro fertilization more accessible. It's a welcome extension of his pledges to require health insurers to cover IVF services and an executive order aimed at reducing the cost of fertility treatments.
However, the announcement was not a new rule requiring insurers to cover IVF. Instead, the Trump administration said the White House had 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.
In addition, the administration announced upcoming guidance from the departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services that will help employers offer fertility benefits outside of basic health plans, just as they offer dental, vision or life insurance.
“We want to make it easier for all couples to have children, raise children and create the families they've always dreamed of,” Trump said at an Oval Office briefing.
The bulk of Thursday's announcements focused on discounted fertility drugs from drugmaker EMD Serono, which is part of pharmaceutical giant Merck. The company said it will make its IVF drugs available at a lower price through TrumpRx, a direct-to-consumer website run by the federal government, beginning in early 2026.
Most IVF patients in the US pay out of pocket for treatmentAccording to nonprofit research group KFF.
“We are proud to announce that Americans will have access to our leading IVF treatments at 84% off list prices,” said Libby Horne, U.S. Fertility Leader at EMD Serono.
The company announced this on Thursday online application a new agreement that would exempt its pharmaceutical products from industry tariffs as long as it invests in U.S. manufacturing and research.
Among the discounted drugs is a widely used drug called Gonal-f, which some IVF patients take as daily injections for about one or two weeks.
Senior administration officials said the specialty pharmacies involved in the deal, CVS Specialty and Express Scripts' Freedom Fertility, which they estimate account for more than 80% of Gonal-f's distribution, have agreed to cut their costs associated with handling the drug.
“More than 40% of the cost of IVF comes from the specialty drugs used for this treatment. Reducing these costs could have a significant impact on affordability and affordability,” Dr. Roger Shedlin, CEO of the fertility care company. WIN– the message says.
Dr. Kaylen Silverberg, a fertility specialist and chairman of the advisory board of the group Americans for IVF, said some of his patients have spent more than $17,000 out of pocket on fertility drugs.
“This is the first administration in 20 years that has even wanted to talk about this,” he said, adding: “Today we turned on the president’s press conference in my office when he made that announcement, and people were standing there crying because they were so happy.”
Trump's announcement comes after months of relative silence from the White House on what policies it is considering to expand access to IVF. An executive order he issued in February called for recommendations to “protect access to IVF and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health care costs for IVF treatment.” Trump got the list these recommendations in May.
The new agreement is part of Trump's broader effort to bring U.S. prescription drug costs in line with the lowest prices charged in other rich countries – the so-called “most favored nation” pricing model.
The White House has not yet agreed to reduce prices for IVF drugs from other manufacturers.
Sean Tipton, chief advocacy and policy officer for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, which represents IVF providers, called the announcement “an important first step” but said it still doesn't go far enough to improve access.
“A single executive action alone cannot ensure that every patient in need of IVF – which for some represents the only option to have a child – will be able to access it,” he said.
For now, drugs made by EMD Serono will be discounted on TrumpRx at varying levels depending on the buyer's income, according to senior administration officials. Patients with incomes below 550% of the federal poverty level will be eligible for a larger discount, officials said.
Last year, Trump campaigned on expanding access to IVF, calling himself at the time “IVF father” However, some conservatives and anti-abortion groups consider IVF unethical because the process often involves removing embryos that have genetic problems or are unwanted. The Washington Post reported this in August. that the administration has backtracked on the idea of requiring IVF coverage for health insurers.
EMD Serono is seeking Food and Drug Administration approval for another fertility drug, Pergoveris, which is approved in Europe but not approved by U.S. administration officials. US administration officials said on Thursday that the FDA intends to give the application priority review status, which would speed up the process.
