Rep. Jacobs pushes for IVF coverage for military families
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San Diegan and U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs is leading the charge to make fertility treatments more accessible for military families.
Why it matters: About one in four service members and their spouses report infertility, and the health care coverage expansion Jacobs is championing would provide more affordable family planning options.
Driving the news: Jacobs, a 36-year-old Democrat, introduced legislation this year that would require military health care to cover all fertility treatments for service members and their families, including in vitro fertilization and egg freezing.
- The provisions were folded into the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which sets defense policy for the coming fiscal year. The U.S. House version of that bill passed Wednesday.
- A similar measure was removed from last year's defense bill in final negotiations.
Zoom in: Military families have higher rates of infertility than the average population, and they're often deployed and doing dangerous work during their prime reproductive years, Jacobs told Axios.
- Currently, fertility services are only covered for those who can prove their infertility stems from a service-related injury or illness.
- That leaves many military families with three options — pay out of pocket, forego a family or leave the military to get private insurance, Jacobs said.
- "Those are three bad options," she said.
Between the lines: Jacobs has been sharing her own experience freezing her eggs on social media, which involved weeks of hormone pills and injections, frequent doctor visits and egg retrieval surgery. She paid about $30,000 for the treatment.
- "It's why I'm pushing so hard for this to be covered by insurance, because I think everyone should have access to this," she said.
- While Jacobs is starting with military families, she sees this legislation as a step toward getting private insurers to expand coverage as well.
State of play: California recently expanded access to IVF by requiring insurers to cover diagnosis and treatment of infertility, including egg retrievals and embryo transfers.
- The new state law, which went into effect in July for most beneficiaries, applies to about 9 million residents.
- It excludes those on Medi-Cal and doesn't apply to service members living in the state who use TRICARE, the military's health plan.
The big picture: Jacobs' effort comes as President Trump has called for IVF to be cheaper, and it aligns with Republicans' support for building families, but the reproductive health issue in general has divided the GOP.
What's next: The IVF provisions in the defense policy bill must survive final negotiations in Congress before reaching Trump's desk.