The PCs are not happy with the provincial government’s IVF subsidy program announced yesterday and are calling for the establishment of an IVF clinic in this province.
Health Minister John Haggie announced the details of the subsidy program on Wednesday, leading the opposition to question the minister about increased IVF services.
To that end, Haggie pointed to the fertility services clinic already operating in the province, noting that government is working to address what he calls “gaps” in the system.
PC MHA Helen Conway-Ottenheimer disagrees with the Minister’s assessment that their IVF subsidy “levels the playing field” for those seeking treatment. She calls it a band-aid solution that doesn’t address the real issue. Which she says is access to IVF services.
Meanwhile, the PCs are disagreeing with one of the timelines presented in the subsidy program, which states it is retroactive to September 1, 2021. That’s raising concern from some patients who were treated after the initial promise was made by government, but before the September 1st cut-off.
Health Critic Paul Dinn thinks the retroactivity should go back further. He would have gone back to the point at which the promise was first made.
Bit of a heated echange between PCs Paul Dinn when he accuses the premier of "misleading" people on the establishment of an IVF clinic in the province.@VOCMNEWS
— Richard Duggan (@RDugganVOCM) March 16, 2022
The Health Minister responded to concerns that money announced to help people going through IVF treatments isn’t enough.
The cost of going through such treatments can be costly. For some, that could mean expenses of well over $20,000 when all is said and done.
Minister John Haggie says such programs in other provinces “vary enormously,” noting that some give a one-time grant of $5,000 while others give grants of $10,000.
He says this is a “made in Newfoundland solution,” and in terms of travel, it levels the playing field.
When asked about why the subsidy isn’t higher than other provinces because of the added travel costs, Haggie says it comes down to two factors and both involve the fact that IVF is not an insured service. The first is that they have to be “very careful” not to breach the terms of the Canada Health Act, and because the process is not insured they cannot cover that portion of it.
