N.L. families waiting on IVF travel funding stuck in limbo
CBC
Newfoundland and Labrador families who need to travel for in vitro fertilization treatment are still waiting on funding promised months ago — and some are wondering if it will ever arrive.
N.L. is one of just two provinces without its own IVF clinic, forcing anyone who needs the treatment to spend thousands of dollars travelling to places like Halifax, Calgary and Toronto.
During the provincial election earlier this year, the Liberal Party released a statement promising funding for those who need to travel for IVF would come "in the immediate term." In August, Newfoundland and Labrador Health Minister John Haggie said a funding package would be announced within weeks.
Two months later, that funding has yet to materialize.
Jessica Penney, a St. John's woman planning to begin IVF treatment in Calgary, has been waiting for the travel funding since it was announced. She said the lack of news has been "completely discouraging."
"I think that [the commitment] was a tactic to just shut people up," she said in an interview with CBC News. "Until you see numbers, it really doesn't mean anything."
Penney said the cost of travelling for IVF treatment can run up to $30,000 counting flights, medication, treatment plans, hotel rooms, rental cars, food and other expenses. The procedure is not covered by the provincial medical care plan. Penney and her husband would also need to take three weeks off work.
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