WASHINGTON ‒ President Donald Trump announced a plan aimed at expanding access to in vitro fertilization, seeking to fulfill a 2024 campaign promise by launching new efforts to lower IVF costs for families.

Trump's plan, which he unveiled Oct. 16 in the Oval Office, calls for eliminating red tape for employers who want to expand access for the millions of Americans who want coverage for the procedure. Yet it would not mandate that insurers cover IVF services, a proposal he campaigned on.

Trump also reached a deal with EMD Serono, the largest fertility drug manufacturer in the United States, which has agreed to lower prices of medications between 42% to 79% under a most-favored nation pricing agreement. Trump said that includes lowering prices for Gonal-f, a drug that stimulates the ovary to produce healthy eggs.

The medication will be available via TrumpRx, the website to allow direct-to-consumers sales of some prescription drugs, in early 2026. The amount of the discount will be based on the patient’s income.

"There's no deeper happiness and joy than raising children, and now millions of Americans struggling with infertility will have a new chance to share the greatest experience of them all," Trump said.

IVF involves a technology where eggs are combined with sperm in a lab to form embryos.

Trump's plan seeks to reduce costs for employers and their workers who are looking for more affordable options for IVF, which can cost $20,000 to $30,000 per cycle.

The Trump administration is set to loosen restrictions on employers that want to expand coverage and reduce costs of fertility treatments for their employees. The policy would give employers the option to offer fertility treatments as a benefit not tied to medical insurance, similar to how companies offer add-on coverage options for dental, vision and life insurance.

The negotiated savings are expected to save eligible consumers $1,200 to $1,900 per cycle, depending on their income. The discount will be available to individuals who earn up to 550% of the federal poverty level, or about $86,000 per year.

Trump plan less ambitious than IVF campaign pledge

The federal departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services are set to issue guidance that allows employers to offer fertility treatments as a benefit independent of medical insurance, a senior administration official said.

Such guidance will allow companies to offer fertility benefits directly to workers who want it. This will allow employers a better idea of how much such benefits will cost, and it will give worker the option of purchasing such as benefit, a senior administration official said.

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump embraced IFV ‒ and promised to expand access to it ‒ as he worked to fend off attacks from Democrats who argued the Supreme Court's 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, aided by Trump's three appointments of conservative justices, jeopardized IVF treatment in some states.

Trump called himself the "father of IVF" on the campaign trail. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and other Democrats mocked the self-anointed title, noting how Republicans in Congress last year voted multiple times to block legislation that sought to protect access to IVF.

When asked during the Oct. 16 Oval Office event what his message is to pro-life conservatives who have religious objections to IVF, Trump replied, "I think this is very pro life. You can't get more pro life than this."

Trump on Feb. 18 signed an executive order instructing his administration to produce a list of recommendations within 90 days on "protecting IVF access and aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment." The White House blew past the deadline in May.

Just about half of employers with 500 or more workers covered IVF as part of their employer health insurance plans in 2024, according to benefits consultant Mercer. Coverage was more common among large corporations; 70% of employers with 20,000 or more workers provided IVF coverage for workers and their dependents, according to Mercer.

Recent surveys show fertility coverage is among the most sought after benefits for young adults in the workforce. One survey found 69% of employees have taken, considered or might take a new job for better reproductive and family benefits, according to a survey from Maven Clinic, a virtual clinic for women's and family health.

Another survey by Gallagher, an insurance and employee benefits consulting company, found 63% of the nearly 700 employees surveyed said they would change jobs for better benefits.

A 2024 survey by the KFF, a health policy nonprofit, found that about 13% of reproductive-age women said they or their partner needed fertility assistance services at some point. Fourteen percent of those women said they received IVF, a type of assisted reproductive technology where eggs are combined with sperm in a lab to form embryos.

Trump's IVF plan comes 16 days into a federal government shutdown that Democrats have used to highlight rising health care costs. Democrats have refused to vote for a GOP-backed bill to reopen the government unless it overturns Republicans' recent Medicaid cuts and extends expiring subsidies in the Affordable Care Act.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump wants more US babies. This is his plan to lower costs, expand access to IVF.

Reporting by Ken Alltucker and Joey Garrison, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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