Starting a family is a high priority for many people, but some are forced to seek non-traditional means to make this a reality.
The practice of in vitro fertilization (IVF) is becoming more popular, but is not guaranteed to bring hopeful parents a child and comes with a steep price tag — one a new study thinks the government should cover.
"We think the time has come to consider this and … we think the government should step up," said Dr. Calvin Greene, medical director of Calgary's Regional Fertility Program.
The study was commissioned by the program's affiliated charity, Generations of Hope, and was conducted to determine potential government savings if single-embryo transfer IVF treatments were publicly funded.
Although implementing the program would cost the government roughly $115 million over a five-year span, the cost would be offset by savings from fewer multiple births, saving the province roughly $78 million, the report says.
"The government saves money, we end reproductive discrimination based on income and means and make treatment available for all Albertans," Greene said. "There doesn't seem to be a compelling reason not to do it."
Life or death
One in six Alberta couples struggle with involuntary infertility, Greene said.
A St. Albert couple, who asked not to be identified, travelled to the United States in fall of 2008 to receive IVF treatments after several years struggling with infertility.
The treatments came at a cost of roughly $55,000 — a price well worth it for the couple who now have a healthy, almost three-year-old son.
"We would support [the government] looking into at least covering some portion of it, if not all of it," said the father.
Prior to experiencing infertility issues, the couple planned to have multiple children. They are not sure if they will repeat the process to have another child, but said it makes no difference whether it is publicly or privately funded.
"If you've got people who want to have families and raise children and need some assistance doing it, those are our future taxpayers and politicians and community leaders, so why wouldn't you?"
The cost of IVF in Alberta is roughly $7,500 per treatment cycle with an additional $6,000 in medication costs. This often leads couples to have multiple embryos implanted each cycle, increasing their chances of pregnancy — both single and multiple, Greene said.
Multiple births can pose a risk to the child, with the child being 17 times more likely to require costly medical attention before and after birth, Greene said.
In Canada, it is standard to implant two embryos. Greene said if the government funded IVF, Alberta could become a leader in single-embryo implantation and ultimately decrease the chance of high-risk multiple births, which can occasionally result in life-long complications and disabilities.
"If you include the long-term costs of caring for someone with a disability, plus the hospital costs as high-risk pregnancies require specialists, you're going to show savings in health care and the public purse that will allow you to fund IVF," he said.
If the government funded IVF, the report said there would be a 60-per-cent reduction in the rate of multiple births, with 90 per cent fewer triplets and 44 per cent fewer twins.
Fred Horne, minister of Health and Wellness, said he empathizes with individuals facing infertility issues, however, there are no immediate plans to make a decision regarding public funding for IVF.
"The report presents some new information we didn't have before with respect to the estimated cost to the health-care system," he said. "I don't have any immediate plans to make some decisions about in vitro fertilization but we are certainly looking at the research very closely."
He said a separate report was presented a few years ago that reached a different conclusion — staff is looking at both reports to determine the reason for the differences.
Although IVF is not currently government funded, a variety of services needed prior to treatment are covered, including lab services required to diagnose infertility and treatment and surgery to correct anatomical causes of infertility.
Roughly 1,400 Alberta couples undergo IVF treatments each year. The treatment rate increases by roughly four per cent each year, although Greene said this number is likely to increase further if publicly funded — a prediction that was reflected in the report.
Quebec is currently the only province in Canada to fund IVF, although Greene is confident Alberta will follow suit.
"I'm somewhat confident in this new government with the new leadership that this is kind of the thing that they might see as a win-win," he said. "They can show themselves as being compassionate and caring about families."
Greene said many couples undergoing IVF are concerned over other controversial treatments being funded.
"If you get drunk tonight and break your leg, we'll take care of you. If you smoke, we'll treat your lung cancer. If you eat, get fat and get [high] cholesterol, we'll do your coronary artery bypass," he said. "People don't ask to be infertile and they do require treatment."
