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WATCH: Samantha Busch Visits the White House as Donald Trump Attempts to Lower IVF Costs

Neha Dwivedi
Published

Sep 5, 2021; Darlington, South Carolina, USA; Samantha Busch walks down pit road prior to the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

In February this year, when Donald Trump rolled out an executive order to make IVF more accessible for American families, Samantha Busch publicly backed the move. She had shared a post from Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, praising how “incredible it is for the families facing infertility.”

After spending years beating the drum for awareness while sharing her own IVF battle, Samantha said the order gave her an overwhelming sense of elation. She emphasized that infertility is a condition that deserves visibility, so that no one gets left out of the fulfilling experience of becoming parents due to the steep price of treatments.

Recently, Samantha made her way to the White House, invited by President Trump, to attend an event marking the initiative for the expansion of access to IVF treatment. Samantha spoke at the event, sharing her story. Later, she took to Instagram to describe her experience.

“I was overcome with gratitude and faith. I’ve always believed that God had a purpose for our pain and that our own infertility journey — six rounds of IVF, multiple miscarriages, and years of heartache — was meant to help others,” wrote Samantha as a caption to the post in which she shared her video from the event.

“It was an incredible honor to share our family’s story — to give a voice to something that for too long carried a stigma or went unspoken. I am so proud of this community. Your courage to speak up, share your struggles, and demand change made this moment possible. Together, we turned pain into purpose and hope into action,” she added.

“Because of your voices — and the commitment of the Trump Administration — the dream of parenthood will now be within reach for so many more families,” concluded the certified fertility coach.

 

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A post shared by Samantha Busch (@samanthabusch)

During her speech, she spoke about the hurdles she and her husband, NASCAR star Kyle Busch, faced while trying to start a family. She recounted how IVF became their only road to welcoming their children, Brexton and Lennix. After she shared her story, Trump took the floor and sang praises for Busch.

The Busches also talked about ‘The Samantha and Kyle Busch Bundle of Joy Fund’, an initiative dedicated to advocating for infertility education and awareness and removing financial barriers by granting monetary support to couples seeking IVF to conceive.

While drug costs are a factor, they’re not the main culprit behind IVF’s hefty price tag. According to the National Council of State Legislatures, IVF runs between $12,000 and $17,000 without medications. Factoring them in, the figure climbs closer to $25,000.

As part of Trump’s announcement, employers will now have the green light to offer standalone insurance covering infertility treatments. However, such plans will have leeway regarding mandatory coverage, as Trump outlined in his White House remarks. He also revealed that one major drugmaker, EMD Serono, will trim list prices on IVF-related drugs.

The White House clarified that no government incentives would be given to employers providing fertility benefits, while a fact sheet stopped short of explaining how those plans might be regulated.

All in all, Samantha rallying around what is a deeply personal topic, ridden with stigma, seems to have paid dividends.

Post Edited By:Rahul Ahluwalia

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi

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Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 3000 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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