Trump announces plan to lower the cost of a common IVF drug

President Donald Trump announced a deal with the maker of a common IVF drug, which pledged to sell its fertility medications at a discount through the direct-to-consumer TrumpRx website.

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced two policy changes aimed at making in vitro fertilization more affordable — a long-awaited follow-up to his pledges to require health insurers to cover IVF services and to an executive order aimed at lowering the cost of fertility treatments.

However, the announcement was not a new rule that insurers must cover IVF. Rather, the Trump administration said that the White House has negotiated with two specialty pharmacies and a drug manufacturer to lower the cost of a commonly prescribed fertility drug that stimulates the ovaries to produce eggs.

Additionally, the administration announced forthcoming guidance from the Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services departments that will help employers offer fertility benefits outside of major medical health insurance plans, the same way they offer dental, vision or life insurance.

“We want to make it easier for all couples to have babies, raise children and start the families they have always dreamed about,” Trump said at a briefing in the Oval Office.

The bulk of Thursday’s announcement focused on discounted fertility medications from drugmaker EMD Serono, which is part of the pharmaceutical giant Merck. The company said it would make its IVF drugs available at a lower cost through TrumpRx, a direct-to-consumer website operated by the federal government, starting in early 2026.