Row erupts over IVF medicine cuts

A HSE DECISION to withdraw funding for certain fertility drugs for IVF patients will add up to €4,000 to the cost of such treatment, it has been claimed.

The HSE said the changes would pertain only to women who have already had three cycles of IVF.

Previously, IVF patients paid €100 for a full cycle of drugs to stimulate egg production. It was subsidised through the Drug Payment Scheme (DPS).

Now, those drugs, which include the expensive follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), will have to be bought at full price.

An online petition set up by infertile couples, who are outraged by the new charges, say it will cost them €4,000 and many are considering sourcing the drugs abroad.

As most couples have to have IVF privately in Ireland at a cost of between €5,000 and €6,000 a cycle, it will push the cost of the treatment to an average of about €10,000 for each cycle, they claim.

Dr Sheila McArdle, the medical director of services at the Well Woman clinic, said the number of people having IVF had increased in recent years and couples were already struggling with the costs involved.

“The situation is made even worse because banks have tightened up on lending which was the way that many couples funded the treatment,” she said.

Though the changes to the funding scheme were made in March, the full implications were not known until now. The realisation caused consternation and many people contacted Joe Duffy’s Liveline programme on RTÉ last week to complain about the HSE’s decision.

Contributors to Ireland’s principal infertility website, Irishinfertilitysupportforums.ie, said they would be unable to cope with the new arrangements.

The HSE said it indicated to prescribers in registered fertility clinics that it considered three full cycles of IVF “an appropriate benchmark for funding”.

“Some established clinics in Ireland already operated such a benchmark to avoid hyper stimulation of the ovaries, which can have serious consequences for the lady,” the statement said.

Fiona McPhillips, the author of Trying To Conceive: The Irish Couple's Guide, said the reasons given by the HSE for denying the drugs was "ridiculous".

It is a real risk for women with IVF, but that risk is not related to the number of cycles. Because of careful monitoring, the risks can, in fact, reduce with repeated cycles,” she said.