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 number, and therefore became cheaper for patients.

Refer also to the question ‘How many times will Medicare contribute to the cost of my treatment?