Extending Medicare coverage to all IVF treatments would cost taxpayers less than $1 million a year, advocates argue. The federal government is set to review the surrogacy exclusion later this year.
abc.net.au/news/surrogacy-reform-medicare-family-parenting-pregnancy/102192522Ronald the cavoodle has two doting dads, but if all goes to plan for Alex and Tom, the day will come when he'll need to share the love with their child.
But access is not equal. People aiming to have a baby via surrogacy are excluded from receiving the Medicare rebate for IVF procedures."Medicare would pay about $5,000 to $6,000 so it's a good chunk of that, nearly 50 per cent of that, is reimbursed," he said.Medicare also denied the rebate to Sarah Stevenson, who is medically infertile."I just find it difficult to understand why people like me, we don't get any help," Ms Stevenson said.
"People, I think, don't realise what it feels like when all you want is your baby and you medically can't do that," she said.Surrogacy lawyer Stephen Page labelled the Medicare exclusion a "discriminatory anomaly" from when surrogacy was illegal."For the last 10 years or so, we've had all the states say okay to altruistic surrogacy here, but we've had the Commonwealth as the laggard not prepared to pay for it through Medicare," Mr Page said.
The Albanese government said it would consider lifting the exclusion "as part of broader deliberations on supporting access to reproductive health services", but is yet to make a commitment.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Custodians call for closure of Mount Beerwah to climbersPressure is building for authorities to close a hiking trail up a culturally significant peak in the Glasshouse Mountains.
Read more »
Australian scientists grow replica human lungs and call for end to animal testingExclusive: ‘Everyone told me it would never work’, says professor of nanomedicine, but science needs alternatives to experimenting on animals
Read more »
Call to overhaul uni fees and end reliance on overseas studentsUniversities want the Albanese government to scrap fee changes designed to lower student costs for priority degrees and raise them for others, because they have forced them “to do more with less”.
Read more »
Pharmacists and doctors should call a truce, for everybody’s benefitThe Herald's View: Doctors and pharmacists have been at each other’s throats since they were separated into different professions in the Middle Ages, but it's time they called a truce
Read more »