Starting in 2015, Ontario’s expert panel has proposed covering 1 cycle of IVF treatment per patient, as well as several other measures to improve access to fertility services. This is very good news for fertility patients, as IVF can often provide pregnancy rates 20x or higher than IUI or other treatments can. No, IVF is not for everyone in every diagnosis. But for the right patients, improved access is going to make all the difference.
That said, we don’t have all the details yet. Will OHIP cover services? All services? When will this be available? Will there be age or other restrictions?
In Quebec it took about two years to work these details out in consultations. Let’s hope that in Ontario, we can build from that experience and implement the coverage much sooner than that.
Stay tuned, we’ll blog updates as this situation progresses.
The original release is here, or you can read it below.
Ontario Sharing Cost of IVF to Help People Who Cannot Conceive Children
Ontario intends to help more people expand their family by increasing access to fertility treatments.
Starting in 2015, Ontario is proposing to expand its funding for infertility services to improve affordability and access, while protecting the health and safety of patients and their babies. Ontario is also proposing to contribute to the costs of one cycle of in vitro fertilization (IVF) per patient for all forms of infertility to help people who cannot conceive children. Families or their health plans will continue to pay the cost of the associated drug treatments and ancillary services.
By expanding access to IVF, the government could fund an estimated 4,000 more people, for example cancer patients undergoing medical treatments that cause infertility, giving them hope of having a family one day.
Ontario will establish an advisory body, including medical experts, to review program implementation details and provide advice on the establishment of a quality framework to promote safe and high quality infertility services, including single embryo transfer to reduce the rate of multiple births. This will improve the safety of IVF treatment for mothers and their babies and may help reduce the health costs associated with multiple births.
This builds on the government’s efforts to help people start or expand their family through adoption, including removing barriers to adoption for kids in the care of Children’s Aid Societies and providing new subsidies to eligible families who want to adopt or gain legal custody of a Crown Ward. This is also part of the government’s economic plan that is creating jobs for today and tomorrow by focusing on Ontario’s greatest strengths – its people and strategic partnerships.
Read the Expert Panel on Infertility and Adoption’s full report here.