WASHINGTON (AP) -- Drugmaker EMD Serono will reduce the cost of a common fertility medication through a deal struck with the Trump administration, President Donald Trump said Thursday while also unveiling new federal guidance he said will encourage employers to offer fertility coverage.
The new guidance will allow companies to offer fertility benefits separate from major medical insurance plans, like they do with dental and vision plans, Trump said.
The Oval Office announcement offers a first glimpse at how Trump plans to follow up on his executive order earlier this year aiming to reduce the cost of in vitro fertilization, a medical procedure that helps people facing infertility build their families. But it falls far short of his promise as a candidate to make IVF treatment free. It marks the third deal the administration has made with pharmaceutical companies to cut drug prices in recent weeks.
EMD Serono's Gonal-f is among several drugs frequently used by patients going through IVF treatments -- which involve using hormones to trigger ovulation, producing multiple eggs that are retrieved from the ovaries to be fertilized or frozen. The drugs can be expensive, often costing patients thousands of dollars for a single IVF cycle. Many patients trying to get pregnant through IVF go through more than one cycle.
Trump said the drug will be available at a discount on TrumpRx, a government website where patients will be able to buy drugs directly from manufacturers.
Trump said the Food and Drug Administration will also be working with EMD Serono to expedite approval of another one of its fertility drugs available in Europe, called Pergoveris.
Thursday's announcement comes after Trump issued a February executive order pledging to make IVF more affordable. During his campaign last year, Trump pledged that if he was elected, he would make IVF treatment free.
"Under the Trump administration, your government will pay for -- or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for -- all costs associated with IVF treatment," he said at an event in Michigan. "Because we want more babies, to put it nicely."
That pledge came in the wake of growing pressure after his Supreme Court nominees helped overturn the right to abortion in Roe v. Wade that kicked off an effort in GOP-led states to impose new restrictions, including some that have threatened access to IVF by trying to define life as beginning at conception.
Roger Shedlin, CEO of the fertility and family building benefits company WIN, on Wednesday expressed excitement about what he called "steps in the right direction."
"Any initiative that addresses the cost of drugs will have a material positive impact on the overall cost of the fertility cycle," he said.
Corinn O'Brien, 39, of Birmingham, Alabama, said anything to lower the costs of IVF would be "huge for families."
O'Brien said she underwent three rounds of IVF and gave birth to a daughter in June. Each time, the drugs would cost anywhere from around $1,000 to $5,000.
She said covering the whole IVF cycle "ultimately would be a game changer for families," but helping with the cost of drugs "is progress and is much appreciated."
O'Brien added it would be great if more employers would cover fertility services because, for many, "this is their only chance to expand their family."
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Swenson reported from New York. Ungar reported from Louisville, Kentucky.
