United States President Donald Trump just signed a new executive order that aims to make in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other fertility treatments more affordable to more people.
White House staff secretary Will Scharf said the order directs the Domestic Policy Council to examine various ways to achieve this. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt added in a social media post that the executive order directs policy recommendations to protect IVF access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for them.
Making IVF and Other Fertility Treatments More Affordable
However, neither Leavitt nor a White House fact sheet shared more details regarding Trump's new executive order, such as how it would work to reach its objective. She only noted that the administration will develop recommendations, such as potential legislation.
The executive order comes as access to fertility treatments became a controversial issue during last year's campaign. Kamala Harris and many other Democratic lawmakers warned that reproductive rights were at risk in the U.S. Supreme Court, according to ABC7 Chicago.
During the campaign, Trump denied any interest in limiting access to IVF, which Leavitt referred to in a post on X, saying, "PROMISES MADE. PROMISES KEPT." Scharf added that the president also signed other executive orders.
These include one that he said, "reestablishes the long-standing norm that only the president or the attorney general can speak for the United States when stating an opinion as to what the law is."
The High Cost of IVF
The latest executive order regarding IVF and fertility treatments said that Americans need reliable access as well as more affordable options. This comes as the cost per cycle for such treatments can range from $12,000 to $25,000, the Associated Press reported.
The executive order adds that providing support, awareness, and access to affordable fertility treatments will help many families as they navigate the path to parenthood. Trump wants to receive a list of policy recommendations within 90 days.
A lot of states in the country do not require insurers to cover IVF, which is a process of combining eggs and sperm in a laboratory dish in order to create an embryo for couples who are struggling to conceive.
Even if they have insurance coverage, IVF is relatively expensive, and its costs include various drugs and medical procedures. The procedure is popular, and more than 85,000 infants were born as a result of IVF in 2021, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services, as per Reuters.
Originally published on parentherald.com
