Two Republican senators on Sunday news talk shows were at odds in their support of a vague proposal by former President Donald Trump that under his administration insurance companies would be required to cover in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments.
IVF became a national issue after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. This ruling triggered Alabama clinics to pause services and the state legislature to pass a law protecting IVF providers against liability if something happened to an embryo in their care.
Asked if he would support Trump’s proposal of mandating insurance companies to cover IVF, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Sunday’s ABC This Week: “No, because there’s no end to that.”
Graham instead suggested a tax credit for people who use IVF and other treatments to become pregnant.
“We have tax credits for people who have children. Maybe we should have a means tested tax credit for people using IVF and other treatments to become pregnant,” Graham told ABC. “I would support a tax credit, means tested, kind of like we do with children. That makes sense to me, to encourage people to have children.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, said he and most other Republicans are “open” to supporting Trump’s plan.
“It’s something I’m open to, that most Republicans would be open to,” Cotton said during an interview with NBC News. “I think we’d have to evaluate the fiscal impact, whether the taxpayer can afford to pay for this, what impact it would have on premiums.”
Cotton said he believes supporting couples who are trying to get pregnant through IVF or other fertility treatments is not controversial.
Two months ago, Cotton and other Republicans voted against a Democratic led Senate bill that would have protected and expanded IVF access.
Last week, Trump floated the idea that he supports the government paying for the expensive IVF treatments and requiring insurance companies to cover it.
“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 at an event in Michigan. “Because we want more babies, to put it nicely.”
The announcement comes as Trump has been under intense criticism from Democrats for his role in appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion.
Supporting the mandated payment of IVF is expected to be a motivator for Democrats for the presidential election as Trump continues to adjust to the new race against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I happen to believe in the exceptions Ronald Reagan did for life of the mother, rape, incest,” Trump said last week about his support of a proposed ballot measure to change Florida’s heartbeat bill to give pregnant people more than six-weeks to get an abortion. Trump is a resident of Florida.
Trump, a day later, walked back the comments after conservative backlash.
Clinton Mora is a reporter for Trending Insurance News. He has previously worked for the Forbes. As a contributor to Trending Insurance News, Clinton covers emerging a wide range of property and casualty insurance related stories.