Health Care — House Republicans try to cut IVF expansion in defense bill

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View Online Health Care Health Care The Big Story  2 Republicans try to cut IVF expansions in defense bill A pair of House Republicans are asking House and Senate Armed Services committee leadership not to include provisions expanding access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the annual defense authorization bill.   © Greg Nash/The Hill GOP Reps. Matt Rosendale (Mont.) and Josh Brecheen (Okla.) wrote a letter to committee chairs and ranking members not to include House or Senate provisions in the National Defense Reauthorization Act (NDAA).   The Thursday letter to the committee chairs and ranking members, first shared with The Hill, is an example of divisions that remain in the Republican Party amid threats to the fertility treatment.     The topic came to the forefront after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, spurred by social conservatives' belief that life begins at conception — even as President-elect Trump and the majority of vocal Republicans say they support IVF.    Lawmakers specifically asked committee leaders to exclude a House-passed provision for "assisted reproductive technology" for certain armed forces members under Tricare.   "Section 701 is a dramatic expansion of IVF that will cost taxpayers approximately $1 billion per year. While we have great sympathy for couples who are having difficulty starting a family, IVF is ineffective, leads to the destruction of innocent human life, and does nothing to treat the root cause of a couple's infertility," Rosendale and Brecheen wrote.     Rosendale has been a leading critical voice against IVF in Congress and has filed multiple amendments to bills to stop funding from being spent on IVF. But with Rosendale having opted out of a reelection bid, Brecheen's name on the letter indicates that IVF skepticism will remain in the GOP on Capitol Hill.  Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel and Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads  How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: FDA gives green light to PTSD marijuana study in veterans The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week authorized a long-delayed clinical trial to test whether smoking marijuana can be used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans.  The trial, sponsored by the nonprofit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), has been blocked by the FDA since 2021. 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