Dr Andrew Pesce, former head of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and Jillian Spears, a surrogacy patient, were interviewed by 4BC radio in Brisbane on Monday, 15th April. In the interview, Dr. Pesce agreed that the Medicareless petition to change Medicare laws would get the government to react. The aim of the petition it to provide equal treatment under the law for all IVF patients, including surrogacy.
“The AMA’s position has always been where a procedure is lawful, and it is clinically necessary, the AMA believes that the whole principle of Medicare is to make sure that clinically necessary and lawful services are made available to people that need them. So this would certainly fall into that category,” he said.
The AMA represents the interests of more than 27,000 medical practitioners from all specialties and locations across Australia.
Listen the entire interview here
Partial transcript below:
Why no rebate?
“I think it’s just a historical fact, there’s probably been a slow evolution of what technology has been available for people and surrogacy only came into clinical use probably some time after the rebates were set. Governments tend to have a policy that until they make a specific decision that until they are refundable through Medicare then they aren’t. That’s why a lot of new treatments often are outside Medicare rebates. And leaves us in what is quite an anomolous situation.
Wouldn’t surrogacy give some women a better option than IVF?
There is no doubt that for some women their only option is surrogacy……Now I have to say I wasn’t available to listen to your discussion with Jillian so I have absolutely no background to her medical illness and story.
Well basically due to illness, her, and her other friends, well, she lost her womb.
Well obviously, she can’t carry a baby so there is no option for her other than there being a surrogate to carry the embryo on her behalf if she was able to donate eggs to be fertilized with her partner’s semen. So for her it is the only option.
For various other people, normally most couples would try very, very hard and exhaust all possibilities of carrying their own babies themselves, and only consider surrogacy if it seems to be the only option left available to them.
It seems really expensive doesn’t it. I mean, the average cost of a legal surrogacy is around $60,000.
In which country are you talking?
Obviously here in Australia.
So, I am not involved in the fertility industry. I guess this is in addition to the normal IVF costs, I guess it is because you need to pay for the time and pain and other things associated with the other things of having another person having a baby on your behalf. Look, I am not sure how those costs have evolved, but it certainly does sound expensive.
As the former AMA president, would you see with this petition, that there’s potential that the government may react at last and that the government may do something about this and provide some kind of rebate?
Oh, yes, I think so. The AMA’s position has always been where a procedure is lawful, and it is clinically necessary, the AMA believes that the whole principle of Medicare is to make sure that clinically necessary and lawful services are made available to people that need them. So this would certainly fall into that category.
There are some other times when surrogacy might be requested where there isn’t a medical necessity for it. Let’s just say for argument’s sake there was a woman who was too busy in her career to take the time off to become pregnant and wanted someone else to carry her baby. I think some people might say there are some examples where we could think that we don’t that taxpayer dollars are necessarily best invested. But I think that most people would agree when it’s the only option available for a couple that are desperate to have children, I think most people would be comfortable with Medicare covering it.
medicareless 