Summary

Today, the Trump administration announced an agreement with the pharmaceutical company EMD Serono to reduce the price of their IVF-related drugs for certain patients. The administration also announced it will allow employers a way to offer fertility benefits directly to employees, like they do for dental and vision insurance.

Comment from Nancy Northup, President & CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights: “The Federal government has the power to meaningfully improve IVF access, but the recommendations it announced today are not nearly enough. For so many people, IVF is essential to building their families, yet without insurance coverage it is outrageously expensive in the U.S. and out of reach for most people. Instead of requiring IVF insurance coverage, these policy recommendations are shamefully narrow in scope, short on details, and continue to leave it up to employers to decide whether to cover this critical care. We urge the administration to take additional steps to ensure comprehensive, inclusive, and equitable access to IVF and we look forward to reviewing the details of the announced policies.”

Insurance mandates

Insurance mandates

Insurance mandates are an important way to promote equitable access to IVF and ensure that people have access to the quality fertility health care they need. The government could require IVF insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act and Federal health care programs like Medicaid.

To be most effective, insurance mandates must:

• Be inclusive of the diverse communities who need IVF. They must extend coverage not only to patients who receive a clinical diagnosis of infertility, but also to single people and people in same-sex couples who also need IVF to start or build their families.
• Apply to both private insurance programs and public health programs like Medicaid so that people can access IVF regardless of their source of insurance.
• Be comprehensive. They must cover not only IVF but also fertility health care counseling, diagnosis (including tests and labs), intrauterine insemination, and fertility preservation.

In vitro fertilization (IVF)

In vitro fertilization (IVF)

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most commonly used method of assisted reproductive technology, and has helped millions of people build their families since the late 1970s. There are many barriers to accessing IVF, most notably its prohibitively expensive out-of-pocket cost. If a person does not have insurance coverage, IVF can cost up to $30,000 per cycle.

Learn more about IVF here.

Media contact

Media contact

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