|
Multiple births to cash-strapped IVF mums on rise
Reported May 02, 2010
TWIN and triplet birth rates are set to rise as more Australian women
undergoing IVF ask doctors to implant multiple embryos to reduce the cost of
fertility treatment.
Specialists say cuts to the Medicare rebate have pushed up patient costs by
about $1500 for each IVF cycle, forcing many to delay or abandon attempts to
conceive.
They say there is more pressure from cash-strapped patients to implant
multiple embryos to boost chances of pregnancy in one cycle.
Despite multiple births carrying a fivefold greater risk of death,
prematurity or other complications, clinic chiefs say more couples are
taking the chance.
''They're saying, we understand that it's more dangerous but we can't afford
to do another cycle so we'll have two embryos put back and we'll deal with
the consequences. If our [premature] baby … has to have eight weeks in
intensive care, well Medicare pays for that,'' said Gab Kovacs,
international medical director at Monash IVF in Melbourne.
Medical director of Fertility First in Hurstville, Sydney, Dr Anne Clark,
said while some patients asked for more than a single-embryo transfer, more
opted out of having a second child through IVF.
IVF Australia medical director and Fertility Society president Peter
Illingworth said the trend would affect the health system.
''There can be long-term health complications for twins born as a result of
IVF,'' he said.
''Ideally, we would like to put one embryo in at a time because of those
risks but we are getting more pressure from patients to do two.''
In January, federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon capped Medicare safety net
payments - which paid 80 per cent of the gap between doctors' fees and the
Medicare rebate - after a review found specialists were charging patients
excessive fees.
Ms Roxon vowed patients would be no worse off if specialists charged $6000,
the cost of a typical cycle, according to the government. But doctors said
the average cycle cost up to $7500, or higher if patients required extra
treatment.
Sandra Dill, from infertility support group Access Australia, said it had
been receiving 30 to 40 calls and emails a week since the changes, from
patients complaining to be under increased financial stress.
Source : The Sydney Morning Herald |
