Trump said his administration wants to “make it easier for all couples to have babies, raise children, and start the families they’ve always dreamed about.”
Speaking at the White House on Thursday, President Donald Trump announced multiple actions that would "dramatically slash" the cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments for Americans. Trump said his administration wants to "make it easier for all couples to have babies, raise children, and start the families they’ve always dreamed about."
He announced that healthcare company EMD Serono "has agreed to provide massive discounts to all fertility drugs they sell in the United States, including the most popular drug of all, the IVF drug Gonal-F" after "extensive negotiations."
As part of the agreement, EMD Serono will be listing their fertility drugs online at the TrumpRX website "at very, very heavily reduced prices, prices that you won’t even believe, and ultimately that’s because of the favored nations."
He also said that the FDA is working with EMD Serono to expedite the review and approval of another fertility drug currently being sold in Europe, Pergoveris. "Upon approval, this drug would directly compete against a much more expensive option that currently has a monopoly in the American market, and this will bring down costs very significantly, and the other one is going to have to come down also."
Trump said that all future drugs and treatments the company develops and sells in the US "will be offset at most favored nation prices," and the company would be bringing "a significant portion of their drug manufacturing back to the United States."
"As a result of these actions, the per cycle cost of drugs used in IVF will fall by an estimated 73 percent for American consumers," Trump said.
In addition to steps on drug prices, Trump also announced, "Effective immediately, for the first time ever, we will make it legal for companies to offer supplemental insurance plans specifically for fertility." He added, "This will make all fertility care, including IVF, far more affordable and accessible, and by providing coverage at every step of the way, it will reduce the number of people who ultimately need to resort to IVF because couples will be able to identify and address problems early."
"The results will be healthier pregnancies, healthier babies, and many more beautiful American children. It’s a big factor. It’s a big deal. I’m asking all employers to make these new fertility benefit options available to their employees immediately."
He later added, "there’s no deeper happiness and joy of raising children, and now millions of Americans struggling with infertility will have a new chance to share the greatest experience of them all."
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