Ontario spending $150M to expand fertility services

The Ontario government is spending $150 million over the next two years to expand access to fertility services, the health minister and finance minister announced on Thursday.

With this additional funding for the Ontario Fertility Program, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said three times as many people will qualify for government-funded in vitro fertilization (IVF).

"We want to ensure no one in Ontario is left behind when it comes to achieving their dreams of becoming parents," Bethlenfalvy said, speaking at an Etobicoke fertility clinic.

He said capacity for fertility clinics will expand, and waitlists in hospitals and community centres will be reduced.

Bethlenfalvy was joined by Health Minister Sylvia Jones and Christine Hogarth, MPP for EtobicokeLakeshore.

Jones saidthe expanded program will include more clinics, giving patients more options.

"Today's announcement will make it easier and faster than ever before for more families to access key fertility treatments and care closer to home," she said.

Currently, an estimated 5,500 people per yearreceive funding for IVF treatmentsthrough the Ontario Fertility Program, according to Ministry of Health numbers.

The program has provided funding to over 107,000 Ontarians since it was launched in December 2015, according to a news release Thursday from the health ministry.

Expansion is a 'lifeline,' MPP says

The expansion is "not just a policy change, it's a lifeline," Hogarth said.

She said she's often spoken to women colleagues in caucus and the wider community about issues related to fertility.

"For those women out there who maybe had to go to a clinic this morning and take a blood test and put on a brave face as you went to work this morning, pretending that nothing is wrong, today is for you," Hogarth said.

On Thursday, Bethlenfalvy also introduced a proposednew tax credit, taking effect in January, that he said would cover up to 25 per cent of eligible expenses including for IVF cycles, fertility medications, travel for treatment and diagnostic testing.

One in six Ontarians experience infertility, said Zane Colt, board chair for fertility care advocacy organization Conceivable Dreams, who spoke at the announcement.

He said he and his wife had a child through gestational surrogacy and are currently going through a second round of IVF, at a cost of "tens of thousands of dollars."

The current Ontario Family Plan has made progress in supporting families but has limited coverage and leaves many with a significant financial burden, Colt said.

"These new investments will improve access to treatment, reduce financial strain on families, promote women's health [and] support economic growth," he said.