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IVF clinics must show full cost of treatment
Sophie Goodchild, Health and Social Affairs Correspondent7 Jul 2009
IVF clinics are facing a shake-up over how much they charge for fertility treatment.
Every patient must now be given a full price plan under new guidelines issued today by the fertility watchdog.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority says clinics have to provide a fully costed treatment plan before couples have even started IVF.
Their new code of practice also requires fertility doctors to update and amend these plans if the price changes at any time. The average cost of IVF treatment is £3,500 but this does not include the price for fertility drugs which can increase a bill by hundreds of pounds.
Most IVF treatment is private because the NHS only funds a limited number of cycles.
HFEA chair Professor Lisa Jardine said: “With the majority of people in the UK funding their own treatment, cost is a major concern. The changes will help ensure that patients know upfront exactly how expensive their treatment will be.”
In another change, selecting the sex of an IVF baby for non-medical or “social” reasons will be officially banned.
Reader views (1)
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- Stella, London UK, 08/07/2009 07:25
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