Miraya Gran and her husband took out a second mortgage and organized a family fundraiser so that they could conceive their first child using in vitro fertilization in 2021. She is still not covered by in vitro fertilization insurance, and even though she has two embryos waiting for implantation, she is unable to cover the costs of providing her daughter with a sibling on her own. (courtesy of Miraya Gran)
Miraya Gran is someone Republican President Donald Trump and his administration say they will facilitate novel policies about in vitro fertilization.
To be able to afford the IVF treatment she needed to have her first child in 2021, she needed a second mortgage on her Minnesota home and a family fundraising effort. Grandma’s husband suffers from male factor infertility and she has a genetic blood disorder, making it extremely tough for them to conceive on their own. But unless the cost of in vitro fertilization drops significantly, the grandmother won’t be able to afford to give her daughter a sibling.
“I have two embryos waiting for me, but I don’t have access to them due to lack of insurance,” she said.
But Grandma didn’t have much hope left that IVF costs would drop enough after Trump’s announcement at the White House on Thursday, October 16. The president said his administration has negotiated massive discounts on a key fertility drug, as well as a novel regulation allowing employers to offer in vitro fertilization insurance as a separate policy, such as dental or vision. EMD Serono, a major pharmaceutical brand, will offer the drug at an 84% discount for direct sales on the government’s TrumpRX website, according to a company representative who spoke at the White House event.
Grandma said it wasn’t enough. Drug prices are only part of the cost of treatment. One IVF cycle ranges from $12,000 to $25,000 on average, but can cost more depending on your medical needs. Many people require more than one round of IVF to get pregnant.
Moreover, the novel policy only allows employers to offer insurance options – it is not required by the government.
“They have the ability to put the burden on insurance companies,” Gran said. “There really is no solution for our community until we are covered.”
Trump’s campaign relied on the promise of in vitro fertilization treatment free for everyonethrough federal funding or insurance, but has so far failed to deliver on that promise.
Dr. Eve Feinberg is an OB-GYN professor at Northwestern University and a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist who treats IVF patients on a daily basis. She said lowering drug costs is a positive step, but it’s only about one-third the cost of a typical IVF cycle – less in some cases.
“For some patients, drug prices can be up to half the price,” Feinberg said. “If you have a large reserve of eggs, you need less drugs. If you have a smaller reserve, you will need more. So for some it will be $3,000… and for some it will be $10,000.”
The doctor claims that “reproductive regenerative medicine” does not replace in vitro fertilization
Trump’s promise of free in vitro fertilization is tough to fulfill not only because of the overall cost, but also because of divisions among conservative groups over the ethics of the treatment. In vitro fertilization requires the collection of as many eggs as possible, which are then fertilized. Some are later destroyed because they did not survive after implantation in the uterus due to abnormalities or other medical factors.
Supreme Court of Alabama ruled in 2024 that embryos have the same rights as children, which was thrown out the medical community was thrown into chaos and caused the closure of some IVF clinics in Alabama. Later that year, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution against in vitro fertilization, expressing the church’s opposition to the practice.
The ruling came as Latorya Beasley was waiting for an embryo transfer date for what she hoped would be her second child. Her clinic temporarily canceled appointments, but eventually reopened and she was able to have her second child. Beasley had in vitro insurance through her employer, which is offered by only about 25% of companies employing more than 200 employees nationwide, according to KFF. But there were still out-of-pocket costs.
“At one point we ran out of medication for a day and paid $1,000 out of pocket for it,” Beasley said. “And that was the case with insurance.”
Feinberg said she was also concerned about aspects of the announcement that talked about “regenerative reproductive medicine“, which is a newer field of medicine, not recognized by the same medical boards that govern reproductive endocrinology. This practice is promoted by the Heritage Foundation – the conservative organization that created the 2025 Project – as the “new frontier” of reproductive medicine.
“Some things were said at the briefing that made me think that the idea of covering fertility, especially for companies whose beliefs and ideas are tied to and based on religion, might mean offering regenerative medicine and not offering IVF,” she said.
The restorative practice focuses on tracking your cycle for conception, as well as weight loss and nutrition. Feinberg said she had a patient who had been using these methods unsuccessfully for four years, and when a reproductive specialist told her that her husband had such a low sperm count that there was no way she could get pregnant without medical intervention, she was 43 years elderly.
“He had a genetic mutation that a specialist in reproductive medicine was not trained to recognize,” she said. “They could and should have done in vitro fertilization.”
Gran and Beasley said that if the Trump administration comes forward with plans that truly make a difference for families needing IVF, they will be the first to celebrate it. But until then, the lack of action is frustrating.
“I feel like they sold me an entire line of products from a traveling salesman because until there is real and legitimate change, I don’t believe what they say,” Grandma said.
This story was originally produced by News from the USwhich is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network that includes the Ohio Capital Journal and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
