Trump takes steps to reduce cost of fertility medicines

President Trump announced a plan to make in vitro fertilization more accessible to American women with an employer benefit option to offer coverage of the treatments directly to their workers.

He also announced a pricing deal with EMD Serono, a maker of a fertility drug, to drastically reduce its price. The announcement builds on the executive order he signed at the beginning of his second term that promised to lower the treatment’s cost and make it more accessible.

“As a result of these actions, the per-cycle cost of drugs used in IVF will fall by an estimated 73% for American consumers, and the numbers are actually going to be very substantially higher as time goes by, when it really kicks in,” Mr. Trump said at the White House.

The pricing deal with EMD Serono will mirror the “most-favored nation” pricing that AstraZeneca agreed to last week. White House officials said two specialty pharmacies that account for 80% of the distribution of the drug — CVS and Express Scripts — reduced their expenses associated with handling the drug lower cost for users.

Guidance will be issued that lets fertility benefits be offered as accepted benefits outside of the major medical insurance plan. The White House will not provide any subsidies for employers that offer the coverage, and it will not be mandatory, but a senior administration official said this guidance will help small and mid-size employers offer the benefits as well.

An administration official said the guidance does not require employers to offer fertility benefits, acknowledging that it would take time for interested employers to implement the benefits. Premium costs for fertility benefits would be dependent on several factors, including the kinds of benefits offered, the official said.

Mr. Trump embraced the issue of infertility while on the campaign trail after the Alabama Supreme Court last year declared that embryos used in IVF should be considered children and their destruction could result in wrongful death lawsuits. The ruling was widely condemned by lawmakers of both parties.

Shortly after taking office, Mr. Trump issued an executive order directing his administration to find ways to lower costs and make IVF more accessible. The order did not offer any specifics, but promised a detailed report would be issued in May. That report has not been released.

The president’s support of IVF has split his base. Pro-life advocates who say IVF is akin to abortion because the embryos created during the process are often discarded. On the other side are conservatives, led by Vice President J.D. Vance, who say IVF is a solution to the long-term economic problems caused by America’s record-low birth rate.

Thursday’s proposal did not address concerns about the discarded embryos from the pro-life movement.

A survey by Mercer, a financial services company, found that 47% of employers with more than 500 workers covered IVF last year, up from 45% in 2023. About 70% of employers with more than 20,000 workers covered the procedure, up from 62%. IVF can cost anywhere from $12,000 to upward of $25,000, but it often takes a few rounds to see results.

Laws requiring insurers to cover at least some fertility care have been enacted in 22 states, and 15 require IVF coverage. Who and what is covered differ drastically from state to state, largely because of the high prices of treatments.