Former President Donald Trump said in an interview Thursday with NBC News that if he’s elected, he wants IVF to be covered.
The fertility treatment can run roughly $20,000 per cycle, with the average patient going through 2-3 rounds.
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In the interview, Trump said his administration would not only protect access to invitro-fertilization but would also have either the government or insurance companies foot the bill.
The costly fertility treatment is the most effective type that involves fertilizing an egg with sperm in a lab. It could be a game-changer for those struggling to get pregnant or who are older.
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Dr. Vanessa Weitzman with IVF Florida said right now in her office, it’s 50/50 in terms of the number of patients who self-pay or come in with some type of fertility benefit through their employer.
She said efforts to change this have been in the works for years, and while there have been improvements in coverage, there is a huge hangup.
“It’s a hard situation to do because we’ve always been the poster child for what is elective, not necessary, so when you’re looking at what is medical care, what is considered, need versus want, I see families as a need, but many people see it as a want, so the question would be when you’re advocating for patients, where do you have the biggest need?” Dr. Weitzman said.
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Coverage depends by state, and here in Florida, there is no mandate for fertility benefits, however, more and more companies are covering infertility services these days more than they did 10 years ago. Another concern Dr. Weitzman has is if there were a federal mandate or government assistance, would the quality change?
“IVF has traditionally been, to some extent, a concierge service because it’s a lot of hand-holding and it’s a lot of staffing and people and time, so the concern would be as you have benefits, it starts becoming lower cost, and lower cost sometimes becomes lower quality," Dr. Weitzman said. "And that’s not new in the system or specific to IVF it’s for any medical system that you’re dealing with."
She said it’s going to be a tough battle in the current climate and something she doesn’t expect to see in the foreseeable future.
