PN calls for free IVF medication

Medicines necessary for in-vitro fertilization treatment should be offered to couples for free, removing a financial barrier to couples seeking treatment, the Nationalist Party has said.

In a statement on Saturday, the PN said that between €4000 to €6000 worth of medicines are required for each IVF cycle and that few families can afford spending €15,000 on medicines for three IVF cycles.

“These individuals, couples and families will have already gone through a lot of pain and anxiety before considering IVF,” the opposition party said. “The least we could do as a society is remove the financial burden that means many cannot even consider it a possibility.”

IVF was introduced to Malta’s public health service in October 2013. While medical services related to fertility treatment are free of charge, the stimulation medicines required beforehand are not. 

The PN said that it was committing itself to offer IVF medicines free of charge should it be in government, reiterating a position it has held for several years.

Earlier this week, PN leader Bernard Grech raised concerns about IVF expenses. Some couples were opting to go abroad for treatment to reduce their costs, he said.

Health Minister Chris Fearne replied on Friday, describing Malta’s public health IVF services as “excellent” and pointing out that they had been introduced by the Labour Party.  

“I expect Bernard Grech to back this bill and not put spokes in the wheels,” Fearne said. 

On Friday’s edition of Pjazza on ONE TV, Fearne stated that he would be making efforts to change local IVF laws to introduce pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, a medical test used to screen embryos for genetic defects before implantation.