Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne provided details on refunds for in-vitro fertilisation medications during a press conference on Thursday.

Prime Minister Robert Abela has announced on Sunday that the government will be refunding the cost for the medicines needed for IVF, aside from the already covered expenses of the processes of the IVF procedure. There will be refunds for all those using the medicines as from the beginning of January of 2022.

Later this year, the government will provide the service of IVF medicine free of charge, whilst those who are using them currently will be refunded.

“Since 2014, when the government started offering services of IVF at Mater Dei Hospital, we have seen a success of 252 babies born through IVF. Currently there are also 24 women pregnant from the process of IVF which will hopefully result into 27 new babies thanks to the process,” Fearne said.

The government has been covering most of the expenses of the procedure, such as consultations with professionals, blood tests, ultrasounds, follicle tracking, the process of embryology, counselling before and after the procedure, as well as embryo transfers amongst others, all of which amounted to €15,000 in costs, which the government will continue to cover, said Fearne.

Fearne added that the aim is to reduce bureaucracy as much as possible by making the process simple for couples or persons who make use of IVF processes.

Chief Medical Officer Walter Busuttil said that the Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic (ART) at Mater Dei will provide a form for IVF patients where they will be guided on the process. The form will also include the patients’ IBAN number where the money will be refunded to the patient without difficulties.

€500 will be given to cover expenses for intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedures, €1,000 will be given to patients who undergo an embryo transfer, whilst those who undergo procedures of stimulated cycles will be given €2,500, said Busuttil.

Those who must spend more than what is being given, there will be a system where the person may present their prescriptions for verification and the difference will also be covered, he said.