Free Fertility Treatment
Professional Support for Your Fertility Journey
You may be entitled to free fertility treatment as part of your country's national health service. You should therefore check with your local health authority or ministry.
UK
In the UK patients may be entitled to as many as three rounds of free IVF fertility treatment or ICSI treatment if they are referred by their GP and meet the guidelines for their local health authority.
The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK recommends that women aged 23 - 39 or patients who have an identifiable cause of infertility such as low sperm count in men and blocked fallopian tubes in women should receive treatment. Patients who have had fertility problems for three years or more are also eligible for free treatment.
However, whilst these guidelines are followed in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own guidelines.
There are also long NHS waiting lists and patients still have to pay prescription charges (although the cost of fertility drugs tends to be far less than the amount charged by private clinics).
Canada
In Canada fertility treatment is covered by Medicare in some provinces and so you should check with your provincial health ministry to find out if your IVF treatment would be covered. It is also possible to use personal tax credits to cover a portion of the IVF treatment.
Some countries only offer free fertility treatment to married couples and exclude single women or gay and lesbian couples. Some countries will also not offer free treatment to a patient that already has a child.
Information Resources
- For information on free fertility treatments in England and Wales go to NICE website www.nice.org.uk
- For information on Medicare Canada go to the Health Canada website www.hc-sc.gc.ca
- For information on use of personal tax credits in Canada to pay for treatment see the Canada Revenue Agency's website www.cra.gc.ca