Military families hit with bitter blow after Congress strips fertility treatment funding from defense bill

More than eight years after my failed IUI, as federal employees have seen an expansion in their fertility benefits, TRICARE still doesn’t offer fertility coverage. A couple of weeks ago, it really looked like it would, which is why as we ring in 2026, I am thinking of the military families struggling to have a baby, for whom this new year will be off to a bitter start.

They were banking on a provision in the massive defense bill signed into law by President Donald Trump just before the holidays that would have given them the same kind of access to fertility coverage that other federal employees have.