Trump: If Elected, I'll Make IVF Free

However, he doesn't explain exactly how that would work
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 30, 2024 1:15 AM CDT
Trump: As President, I'd Make IVF Free
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump points to a person in the crowd at a town hall with former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in La Crosse, Wis.   (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

While Kamala Harris was being interviewed on CNN, Donald Trump was telling the audience at a Michigan rally that, if elected, he'd go beyond protecting in-vitro fertilization—he'd make it free. "I'm announcing today in a major statement that 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," Trump said, per the AP. "Because we want more babies, to put it nicely." He separately announced the plan in an interview with NBC News, and when asked whether the treatments would be paid for by the government or by insurance companies, he said one option would be for insurance companies to cover the procedure "under a mandate, yes."

He did not give further details on his plan, nor did he explain how it would be funded. Just one round of IVF can cost $20,000, and women often need more than one round; it is typically paid for out of pocket as most insurance plans don't cover it. Trump's announcement comes as some have expressed concerns that restrictions on abortion could lead to similar restrictions on IVF. Trump was also asked about abortion by NBC, and specifically, how he would vote in his home state of Florida on a ballot measure guaranteeing the right to abortion up until a fetus is viable. "I think the six weeks is too short. It has to be more time," is all he said, a reference to the state's current six-week abortion ban. "I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks." (More Donald Trump 2024 stories.)

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