Din January 2024 women from all over Italy will be able to use the homologous medically assisted procreation without paying anything other than a ticket. For the heterologist, however, the cost of the ticket will be decided by the individual regions and could be approximately around 1,500 euros, a higher price because it is influenced by the origin of the donor gameteswhich are almost always imported.
Free assisted reproduction for all
Great good news as well as «the right path to support women who, faced with difficulties in conceiving, choose Pma» said the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci, speaking at the conference “Birth: work in progress” promoted by SIGO, the Italian Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
A step forward for women
But also a clear step forward, given that the approval of the new LEAs, the essential levels of assistance, had been awaited since 2017. These, in fact, foresee an increase in healthcare services, guaranteed to citizens free of charge or upon payment of a ticket, including assisted reproduction. Last April, the agreement was finally concluded with the regional authorities and so the new tariff will come into force from January 1, 2024.
News for access to assisted reproduction in public health: the service possible with the payment of only a ticket (Getty)
Less inequality and less procreative tourism
The objective is, clearly, to overcome inequalities in the area giving everyone the right to access the new services, given that today homologous assisted procreation is available free of charge only in a few areas of Italy. But that is also hope to limit the phenomenon of procreative tourismwhich today pushes thousands of couples to move from Southern Italy to Northern Italy to access treatment.
«The latest available data – underlined the minister – indicate that in 2021, after the setback recorded during the pandemic, a clear recovery in the application of all Pma techniques. In particular, in the year 2021 they recorded an increase of 36% compared to 2020, pregnancies by 50% and children born alive by 49%.
Stop motherhood reserved for the richest
The lack of homogeneity of the rates in the private sector, which most people turn to to avoid the endless waiting lists in the public sector, means that the possibility of having children is reserved for the wealthiest. From Sigo data, however a homologous fertilization costs from 3,500 to 6-7,000 euros And for a heterologist from 5,000 to 9,000 euros. Figures that highlight how decisive the approval of the tariff decree was.
«Further commitment is necessary – reiterated Schillaci – so that all couples are guaranteed the possibility of accessing public structures and services aimed at protecting reproductive health». Therefore support for the birth rate it also needs the contribution of healthcare personnelfrom gynecologists to midwives to general practitioners. But it is also necessary ensure a widespread presence of consultantswhich has always been a health safeguard and an indispensable piece in the birth support strategy, which must be networked with general practitioners, local health authorities and hospital facilities.
The Italian demographic winter is scary
All these measures for the birth rate come at a time of birth crisis which has reached a significant negative peak. What is now defined “demographic winter”, based on the latest Istat data, reached its peak in 2022. For the first time, in fact, since the unification of Italy there have been fewer than 400 thousand birthsapproximately 2% less than the previous year, in which the negative record since the unification of Italy had already been recorded. A great recession that began in 2008 and has progressively worsened. Since then, in fact, the downward curve has never stopped, leading observers to talk about an alarming situation in which the birth rate collapses, the average age of the population increases and the number of deaths far exceeds that of those born.
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