On Monday, the day after Mother's Day, President Donald Trump announced his administration's unprecedented push to make IVF (in vitro fertilization) more affordable for Americans, a move that evaded previous administrations' efforts due to fear. 

"It takes guts to take on an important lobby. The main reason [they didn't get it done] is they were intimidated. They were scared. But I've had many conversations with the president, and he says he doesn't care—he wants to do the right thing," Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said during the Oval Office gathering.  

The initiative was championed by Senator Katie Britt, R-Ala., who brought the issue to the attention of the administration after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos qualify as “children” under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, prompting several IVF clinics to halt services due to legal liability fears. 

Britt says the February 2024 decision by Alabama's highest court is what led her to advocate for protections and continued nationwide access to fertility treatments. 

TrumpRX and bargain prices for IVF drugs

The announcement follows the February launch of the TrumpRx website (TrumpRX.gov) as a federal Most-Favored-Nation drug pricing platform, which provides significant discounts on select brand-name fertility medications primarily from pharmaceutical company EMD Serono (Merck) to help reduce out-of-pocket costs for IVF, egg freezing, and related treatments. 

The site features three key injectable drugs: Gonal-F (follitropin alfa for ovarian stimulation, reduced to as low as $168 per pen with up to 83% off list prices), Cetrotide (cetrorelix for preventing premature ovulation, dropping from around $316 to $22.50), and Ovidrel (trigger shot, falling from about $251 to $84). 

These discounts, available via coupons redeemable at participating pharmacies like CVS Specialty, Freedom Fertility, and others, can save patients an average of $2,000+ per IVF cycle when the medications are used together. 

The TrumpRx site itself provides price transparency and redirects users to manufacturer savings programs rather than selling drugs directly on the website.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Coverage for the IVF procedure and process

Separately, the administration issued guidance and a proposed rule to create a new category of “limited excepted benefits” that lets employers voluntarily offer standalone fertility/IVF benefits (e.g., reimbursements or coverage for treatments) to employees, similar to how dental or vision plans work—bypassing many ACA rules and making it easier for companies to add these without integrating them into major medical plans. 

This encourages broader employer support for family-building but remains optional for businesses and does not mandate coverage. 

Overall, the program focuses on direct drug price relief for self-pay patients plus facilitating private-sector benefits rather than government-mandated insurance expansions.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Birth rate crisis and surging fertility problems

For many women, the birth rate issue is not a lack of will. According to Oz, one in three women are "underbabied." “That means that you either don’t have children or you have less children than you’d want to have,” Oz said during the Oval Office announcement on Monday. He emphasized the falling fertility rate in the U.S. and called it a “fertility crisis.”

The United States currently faces a birth rate crisis, with the total fertility rate hovering around 1.6 births per woman—well below the 2.1 replacement level—and the general fertility rate hitting a record low of 53.1 births per 1,000 women ages 15–44 in 2025. 

The crisis extends a nearly two-decade decline that portends rapid population aging, shrinking future work forces, and mounting strains on Social Security and economic growth.

New resources for moms and aspiring moms

During the event, Trump, who has embraced a new moniker: "the father of fertility", also announced the launch of Moms.gov as a new HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) resource hub for new and expecting mothers, offering centralized guidance on healthy pregnancies, family support, and related services. 

The site features information on pregnancy centers (including free ultrasounds, parenting classes, and material aid), Federally Qualified Health Centers, nutrition facts aligned with Dietary Guidelines, breastfeeding, mental health, adoption, preconception health, and links to TrumpRx for fertility medications plus Trump Accounts ($1,000 seeded savings for newborns).

HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. described it at the event as a tool to strengthen families and “Make America Healthy Again,” with an emphasis on supporting difficult or unexpected pregnancies through life-affirming resources.