Medicare cover on IVF ICSI
Australia Medicare funding for IVF services will be expanded to cover an advanced technique for injecting sperm cells into human eggs, which is a step likely to help thousands more infertile couples have a baby.
The technique, is called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) , is used when a man’s sperm is unable to fertilise his partner’s egg naturally. The treatment costs from $500 to $800, a fee couples have so far had to pay from their own pockets. Releasing its response yesterday to an expert panel review of IVF, the federal Government said the procedure would be covered in a planned readjustment of IVF items under Medicare.
The Government confirmed it would not restrict funding for In vitro Vertilisation services, either by limiting the number of cycles per year or by denying Medicare subsidies to women in their 40s, when success rates are lower.
Both steps had been flagged by Health Minister Tony Abbott last year, before a furore among the Coalition’s ranks forced a backdown and prompted the Government to refer the matter to the review committee. Read the rest of this entry »