A laboratory technician uses equipment used for in vitro fertilization. (Photo: Getty Images)
President Donald Trump said Thursday that his administration has negotiated a lower price for a major fertility drug and will issue an executive order allowing employers to cover some of their employees’ infertility insurance.
Pharmaceutical company EMD Serono will offer its popular in vitro fertilization drug Gonal-F at an 84% discount, Libby Horne, the company’s senior vice president of U.S. fertility and endocrinology, said in the Oval Office.
The drug will be available on TrumpRX.com, a novel website created by the White House to highlight Trump’s efforts to lower drug prices, Trump said.
The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services will issue guidance delayed Thursday, Trump said, which will be followed by an order creating a “legal path for employers to offer fertility benefits packages” similar to vision or dental plans.
Senator Katie Britt praised
These initiatives “are the boldest and most significant actions any president has ever taken to bring the miracle of life into more American homes,” Trump said.
He thanked U.S. Senator Katie Britt, a Republican from Alabama, for bringing this issue to his attention.
“She told me about it first,” he said. “I didn’t know much about it and we worked together very quickly.”
Britt advocated for in vitro fertilization after the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling last year that made it illegal in the state. The state legislature soon passed a law ensuring that in vitro fertilization would remain legal.
During Thursday’s Oval Office ceremony, Britt had high praise for Trump, saying he had made the issue a priority since they first spoke on the phone.
“In vitro fertilization makes a difference for many families struggling with infertility,” she said. “The recommendations presented today by President Trump will expand IVF coverage to nearly a million more families and significantly reduce costs. Mr. President, this is the most pro-IVF thing any president has done in the history of the United States of America.”
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He added that Trump is also “addressing the root causes” of infertility as part of the Make America Healthy Again program, which aims to avoid exposure to chemicals.
Warren calls these moves ‘broken promises’
Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren minimized the announcements, saying they did not provide free IVF coverage that Trump has pledged to pursue.
The Massachusetts Democrat added that private employers would likely not choose to provide fertility insurance and said other cuts to health insurance would more than offset any positive effects.
“Trump’s brilliant new plan is to deprive Americans of health insurance and gut the CDC’s IVF team, then politely ask companies to add IVF coverage out of the goodness of their hearts – with zero federal investment and no compliance requirements,” she wrote on social media. “This is offensive and another violation of Trump’s promise to American families.”
When asked about potential backlash from religious conservatives who oppose in vitro fertilization, Trump said he wasn’t concerned about it.
“It’s very pro-life,” he said. “You can’t get more pro-life than that.”
