Trump’s order to expand IVF access does not expand IVF access

FROM THE ARTICLE

“[The order] does not seem to have any meaningful impact on access to fertility treatments, but the intentionally gendered language throughout this order makes me concerned that this will worsen discrimination regarding who can access resources for family building and, by default, determine who is worthy of care.”
President and CEO Dr. Jamila Perritt

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on in vitro fertilization. Despite the order’s claims that it’s “expanding access” to the procedure, it does not actually do that. Instead, it directs the assistant to the president for domestic policy to submit to Trump, within 90 days, “a list of policy recommendations on protecting IVF access and aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment.”

This is far less than Trump’s campaign promise to force the government or private insurers to fund IVF, which one estimate says could cost around $8 billion, based on an average cost of about $20,000 per cycle.