San Diego’s congressional delegation is rolling out a one-two punch in Washington to tackle the towering price tag of in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. Rep. Sara Jacobs is reviving a bipartisan push to make TRICARE cover infertility care for service members and their dependents, while Rep. Mike Levin is pitching a plan to let people tap retirement savings for fertility costs without getting hit with the usual tax penalty. Supporters say the mix of policies, one focused on insurance and the other on how people pay, could ease the strain, but no one is pretending it solves everything.
What Jacobs' bill would do
Jacobs’ Bipartisan IVF for Military Families Act (H.R. 6797) would change Title 10 of the U.S. Code so that TRICARE must cover fertility treatment, including IVF, for active-duty service members and their dependents. The legislation, introduced on Dec. 17, 2025, has been sent to the House Armed Services Committee, according to GovInfo. Backers say the goal is to ease retention and readiness problems that crop up when military families delay having children or leave the service entirely because they cannot afford fertility care out of pocket.
Levin's financial fix
Rep. Mike Levin’s Fertility Cost Relief Act takes a different tack. The proposal would let individuals pull up to $20,000 from IRAs and 401(k) accounts to pay for qualified fertility treatment without triggering the standard 10% early-withdrawal penalty, according to a press release from Rep. Mike Levin. Levin’s office notes that the idea mirrors existing exceptions for other family-building costs and points to federal estimates showing IVF can cost tens of thousands of dollars for many patients. Supporters argue the change would give families a quicker financing option while they wait for broader insurance reforms that may or may not survive the legislative gauntlet.
State laws help, but gaps remain
California tried to shore up infertility coverage in 2024 when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 729, a measure that compels many large-group plans to cover diagnosis and treatment of infertility, including IVF, according to the Governor's Office. Even so, families still often end up staring down thousands of dollars in deductibles, copays and medication costs, even after the insurance kicks in, according to local reporting and clinic price lists cited by the Times of San Diego. Advocates say that is why federal rules are needed to set a baseline so military households and other patients are not left at the mercy of geography or employer benefits.
TRICARE's rules now
Right now, TRICARE generally does not cover assisted reproductive technology such as IVF, with only narrow exceptions in some service-connected cases or through limited supplemental programs, according to TRICARE. That patchwork means a family’s access and out-of-pocket costs can depend heavily on whether a nearby military treatment facility offers services or whether they have to seek care from civilian providers. Proponents of a statutory mandate say writing the coverage into law would help standardize benefits across the armed forces.
Legislative hurdles and what's next
Lawmakers have tried to tuck similar coverage language into past versions of the National Defense Authorization Act, only to see it stripped out during conference talks, and standalone bills such as H.R. 6797 are still sitting in committee. The Congressional Budget Office has warned that expanding TRICARE coverage for assisted reproductive technology raises questions about discretionary spending and implementation that Congress will need to resolve, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Even with sponsors on both sides of the aisle, the proposals still need committee time, budget clearance and, most likely, a larger legislative vehicle to hitch a ride on before they can become law.
For now, San Diego’s representatives and family-building advocates are betting that pairing a coverage mandate with a retirement-withdrawal tweak is the most realistic way to start chipping away at the financial shock of fertility treatment for local families and military households, according to the Times of San Diego.
