Medicare in Australia

IVF funding has come under threat in Australia, due to the GFC (I really hate that acronym!) Australia has a huge hole in it's budget and the politicians are getting ready to either means test the Medicare Safety Net or get rid of IVF coverage altogether from the safety net.

For those outside of Australia or don't know how it works, the safetynet is a taxpayer funded program where once you have spent $1100 out of pocket on medical expenses (Doctors visits, Obs, FS etc), you get 80% of all further out of expenses refunded. For example, if my IVF cycle is $9000, I pay the first $1100 of that out of pocket, but then get $6400 back from Medicare (80% of the out-of-pocket $7900). Does that make sense? Anyway, it's the only way that we can afford to use IVF, hell it's the only way most people can afford to do IVF! Private Health Insurance only covers the hospital bned day surgery and occasionally the anaesthetist.

This would be a huge set back for IVF in Australia. Bueracrats claim that IVF clinics simply put their prices up because they know that the safetnet will cover the extra cost, but do they really believe that IVF clinics are going to drop their prices if the safetynet no longer helps out? Somehow I don't think so.

We don't want to end up in the same situation as the US and other countries where IVF is prohibitively expensive that we end up transferring more embryos and end up with higher multiple rates - something which is highly controlled here at the moment with a high percentage of SET - Single Embryo Transfer. Surely the additional cost to the health system (and the taxpayers!) of having to look after high-order multiples would be a factor that they would consider? It doesnt make sense to take money from one area, only to have to find more money for NICU care and high-risk pregnancies and deliveries!

Don't even get me started on how this would affect us - we struggle to afford IVF treatment with a mortgage as it is - having the safetynet coverage taken away from us would have such a huge impact - I don't think we would be able to continue with treatment, that's how big it will get. And it's not just - a lot of people would no longer have the option of treatment. It really would become something only for wealthy people.

I have been writing to every politician that I can get the details of, in the hope that they will listen to an infertile woman's story and think for one moment how this will affect us.

Edited to Add - Just saw a news article that says they may change the scheme for IVF and OBS only, to reduce the 80% refund to 66%. That is better than nothing but it seems to be such a huge step backwards, and once again a huge impact on those who have to go through this. Sometimes I think people think we do IVF by choice!