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Fertility treatments are so expensive that most people can only afford it with insurance coverage. It's become a big election issue. A new report looks at how often American workers have access to that coverage. NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin reports.
SELENA SIMMONS-DUFFIN, BYLINE: One round of in vitro fertilization, or IVF, can cost you $20,000. The process involves retrieving eggs from ovaries, fertilizing those eggs in a lab and then transferring an embryo into the uterus. It can take several rounds to get pregnant and have a baby. A new survey from KFF, the nonprofit research organization, finds that only about 1 in 4 companies have health plans that cover IVF. It's a little better for large companies. Just over half of them offer IVF coverage. On the campaign trail, like at this rally in Michigan in August, former President Donald Trump has made this promise.
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DONALD TRUMP: 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 - fertilization for women.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Trump's promise came after IVF was shut down temporarily in Alabama. The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, estimated that if the federal government picked up the tab for everyone's IVF, it would have to pay $7 billion each year. A new federal mandate for insurers to pay would likely face legal challenges, as the mandate to cover birth control did. Meanwhile, congressional Democrats have been pushing for the Right to IVF Act, saying they are the party that champions this care. It has been blocked by Republicans twice. Matthew Rae, who ran the survey for KFF, says even though the U.S. is a long way off from IVF for all, employers do seem to be adding the benefit.
MATTHEW RAE: Sometimes these things go in waves, and there's interest in an issue for a period of time. And at other times, it's a prolonged issue. I mean, it's hard to know.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: So the future of IVF coverage could depend on the outcome of the election, the labor market, reproductive rights court cases and more.
Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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