Good news for people in Australia going through IVF

From 1 November 2021 people in Australia going through IVF will be able to claim a Medicare rebate for testing that can help them prevent passing serious genetic disorders on to their child. 

With the support of you, our TSC Community, TSA previously provided a submission in support of Medicare rebates for pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) services within the existing IVF process. We are delighted to let you know that from 1 November 2021, people in Australia will now be able to claim a Medicare rebate for five new Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items for new PGT services provided within the existing IVF process.

The listing includes parents with, “recognised risk of having a child affected by a Mendelian or mitochondrial disorder, autosomal dominant disorder, or chromosome disorder, for which there is no curative treatment and there is a severe limitation of quality of life despite contemporary management.” TSC is an autosomal dominant disorder and it is expected that people in our Community will be eligible.

However, interpretation will be up to the individual clinician, and may be based on clinical judgement of ‘severe limitation of quality of life’. Note also that the existing out of pocket costs involved in IVF cycles are unchanged – this funding is just for the extra tests.