How the IVF Lottery affects Australia

According to the Team at Sunrise on Channel 7, the IVF Lottery just shows our Government should fully fund IVF and better support couples seeking adoption. We agree. Watch the clip from the show: http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/-/watch/25960379/

What is the Medicare Safety Net?

Medicare protects all Australians against big cumulative medical bills for Medicare services provided outside hospital. This includes specialist consultations and outpatient IVF services. The Safety Net pays eighty per cent of the out-of-pocket costs for Medicare services provided out of hospital once these costs reach a threshold amount. Contact Medicare for more information, or discuss this with your IVF clinic.

How many times will Medicare contribute to the cost of my treatment?

Currently there is no limit to the number of treatment cycles Medicare will cover for an individual. In the past there was a limit of six cycles, and more recently there have been attempts by various governments to again limit the number of cycles covered by Medicare. So far Access, with the assistance of its members, and IVF clinics have …

Why are some parts of infertility treatment covered by Medicare and not others?

Access, with the assistance of its members, and IVF clinics have lobbied consistently over many years to have item numbers for various infertility treatments added to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS). This can take many years, for example intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was an accepted and commonly used treatment for ten years before it was finally given a Medicare item …

How much will infertility treatment cost?

This depends on the type of treatment, whether or not you have private health insurance, and on the individual clinic’s charges. It is best to contact clinics and ask for their costs. These can be quite complex due to varying treatment types, and whether or not there is a Medicare item number for the procedures used. Cost of infertility treatments …