Administration Officials Discuss Fertility Rates and IVF Coverage at Maternal Health Event

gov, a website aimed at new and expecting mothers that provides resources including information on anti-abortion pregnancy centers and workplace hazards for expecting mothers. The site features imagery of a young woman who is pregnant. At a maternal health care event on Monday, officials announced a proposal for employers to offer a health care coverage option for in-vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments, which are not included under most insurance plans.

The proposal would not require employers to provide such coverage. Officials stated that expanding fertility options for women remains a priority. Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the country is undergoing a fertility crisis that represents a threat to the national economy and security.

He cited endocrine disrupting chemicals, pesticides and other contributors to hormonal imbalances. Kennedy referred to a statistic that men in 1970 had twice the sperm count that teenagers have today and called it an existential crisis for the country.

>"It takes systemic change to turn America’s birth rates around. " — White House spokesperson Kush Desai (Wired) A White House spokesperson told Wired that the administration is examining chronic health issues that affect fertility as well as policies related to childcare, health care and housing affordability.

Kennedy has repeated the sperm count claim multiple times during his tenure.

Wiltshire, a fertility specialist at Columbia University Fertility Center, said the research underlying the sperm count claim has been debunked by more contemporary studies. A meta-analysis published last year in the Journal of Fertility and Sterility found that sperm count among men had not declined between 1970 and 2023 but remained relatively stable.

Wiltshire noted that male infertility has been rising globally, though the specific causes remain unclear and do not appear directly linked to the study cited. She stated that available evidence does not support the description of an existential fertility crisis among American men.

Mehmet Oz, the administration’s head of Medicare and Medicaid, said one in three Americans are underbabied, meaning they have no children or fewer children than might be expected. He linked the trend to declining fertility and replacement rates that could affect long-term economic stability.

Fertility rates in the United States reached a record low in 2024, with women having an average of 1.6 children over their lifetimes. The birth rate continues to outpace the death rate in the U.S., unlike in some other countries experiencing population decline.

Similar declines in birth rates are occurring across most major industrialized nations. The proposal on fertility treatment coverage does not mandate employer participation and may not reduce overall costs for patients. gov that include investment accounts for children.