Bulk-billing IVF clinic sparks safety concerns as would-be parents look to slash their fertility costs

WOULD-BE parents are flocking to a new bulk billed IFV clinic, the second of its kind in Australia. But experts warn cost-cutting may compromise safety.

Generic image of an IVF needle in female egg.

THE opening of Australia’s second bulk-billed IVF clinic has hopeful parents lining up and some fertility doctors questioning its success.

While Melbourne families flocked to Primary IVF at 530-538 High St after it opened on November 23, IVF doctors warned the low-cost clinic may put women at risk of health complications.

IVF cycles often cost thousands of dollars, but Primary IVF offers treatment for a fraction of the cost.

Fertility Society of Australia president Professor Michael Chapman said he was concerned the clinic’s low cost could lead to more health risks, lower success rates and less expertise.

“We can’t see how it can be economic to provide the infrastructure — which is nurses, counsellors, scientists — at a level that will provide the best quality service for patients on a bulk-bill cycle,” he said. “We don’t think it can be done.”

Primary IVF medical director Dr Janelle McDonald said the clinic was filling a gap in a service that could otherwise be prohibitively expensive.

She said “access to fertility services is a fundamental right” and the company removed “the traditional barriers to IVF — cost”.

Prof Chapman said the FSA was also concerned that cost-cutting could lead to an increase in complications, including ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which could lead to death or complications for newborns.

But Dr McDonald dismissed the suggestion. “Our facilities are purpose-built to the highest standard and use the latest technology,” she said.

The Preston clinic was fully booked during its first week.

Australia’s first bulk-billed IVF clinic opened in Sydney last year, helping single mum Margaret Ambrose conceive her much-wanted second child.

In NSW, each round of non-bulk billed IVF costs about $8000 upfront, with about $4000 refunded through Medicare. Costs can increase by hundreds if a patient has medical issues and needs extra treatment.

The opening of clinic where Ms Ambrose received fertility treatment prompted backlash on social media, with some taxpayers resenting the fact that their dollars were being used to fund a “lifestyle choice”.

But Ms Ambrose wrote that such attitudes failed to understand “the heartbreak of IVF” and the distress women felt at being unable to conceive.

A 2014 report by the UNSW National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit found that Australia was a world leader in safe IVF practice.

About 12,300 babies were born in 2012 through the treatment, accounting about 3.8 per cent of all births in the country.

Originally published as Bulk-billing IVF clinic sparks safety concerns as would-be parents look to slash their fertility costs