The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a proposed rule creating a new legal pathway for employers to offer supplemental fertility care benefits. The administration is touting the rule as an expansion of fertility coverage, but the proposed rule only provides the option for employers to offer benefits; it does not require fertility coverage, nor does it expand access to IVF in public health insurance programs like Medicaid. 

Importantly, under this rule employers could choose to cover only “restricted IVF” or other anti-reproductive freedom approaches to fertility health care that blame women attempting to conceive for their infertility, emphasize “lifestyle factors” as the cause of infertility, and discourage use of IVF. Tellingly, while announcing the new rule, President Trump said it would “hopefully reduce the number of couples who ultimately need to resort to IVF.”  IVF is the most commonly used method of assisted reproductive technology and is a critical tool to help people build their families. 

Learn more about ongoing attacks on IVF here.