Alberta Health Services is offering compensation to some fertility patients who have to seek private treatment, once the Lois Hole Hospital for Women stops offering non-insured services.
In November, 2017, AHS announced the closure of the Regional Fertility and Women’s Endocrine Clinic at the hospital.
The clinic would close at the end of February 2018. At the time, AHS said the changes were needed to free up resources for cancer screening and treatment.
This week, AHS said it would offer compensation to some patients who couldn’t get into the clinic before the changes.
Eligible patients will be reimbursed for storage and registration fees, and families can have frozen eggs, sperm or embryos transferred to any other clinic in Canada, for free.
“We recognize the timelines were short for some of the patients, and we certainly understand some of the stress and anxiety that comes with that,” executive director of women’s health at the Royal Alexandra Hospital Janie Clink said.
AHS will also cover the price difference for patients who visited the clinic since November 2016, who will need to continue their treatments privately.
“What it means is, for one cycle, patients will be paying AHS fees to receive the same services as one of the private clinics,” Clink said.
Once news of the closure came out, patients protested the coming change – AHS said despite the protest and an online petition, the clinic would stop offering non-insured fertility care in March.
CTV News has learned the clinic has already transferred 500 patients to private clinics.
The cost of fertility treatment at private clinics is about 20 per cent more – AHS said if the clinic were to remain open, prices would have been increased in April to be comparable to costs at private clinics.
With files from Shanelle Kaul
