By Andrea Shalal and Ahmed Aboulenein
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday directing the government to expand access to in vitro fertilization and reduce the costs of the popular fertility treatment.
The order, which directs Trump’s domestic policy chief to produce a list of policy recommendations that protect IVF access and cut costs for individuals within 90 days, did not address how the costs would be covered.
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Most states currently do not require insurers to cover IVF, which involves combining eggs and sperm in a laboratory dish to create an embryo for couples having difficulty conceiving. Even with insurance coverage, IVF can cost thousands of dollars in drugs and medical procedures.
“It is the policy of my Administration to ensure reliable access to IVF treatment, including by easing unnecessary statutory or regulatory burdens to make IVF treatment drastically more affordable,” the order said.
More than 85,000 infants were born as a result of IVF in 2021, the White House said in a fact sheet, citing data from the Department of Health and Human Services. Costs can range from $12,000 to $25,000 per cycle and multiple cycles may be needed to get pregnant.
The U.S. fertility rate dropped 3% in 2023 from 2022, the White House said, and decreased by 2% annually between 2014 and 2020. The U.S. birth rate was 1.67 births per woman in 2022, according to World Bank data, below the replacement rate of 2.1 needed to maintain the population without immigration.
The order will also ensure the government examines current policies, including those requiring legislation to change, that make the treatment more expensive, the White House said.
Trump said during his election campaign that he would require the government or insurance companies to pay for IVF fertility treatments if elected.
IVF emerged as a hot-button issue in the 2024 presidential election after the conservative Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos are children. That ruling left it unclear how to legally store, transport and use embryos, prompting some IVF patients to consider moving their frozen embryos out of the state.
Senate Republicans twice blocked Democratic-led legislation designed to protect IVF access last year, with some arguing it was unnecessary because that was not in danger.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Ahmed Aboulenein; Additional reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones; Editing by Ismail Shakil, Deepa Babington and Jamie Freed)
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