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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Navarro Espigares José Luis, PhD, Prof, Mgr¹, Hernández Torres Elisa¹, and Pedro González de la Flor, MD, PhD². (1) Economic Department, University Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Avenida de las Fuerzas Armadas 2, Granada, 18014, Spain, +34 958 020637, josel.navarro.sspa@juntadeandalucia.es, (2) Preventive Medicine Department, University General Hospital of Jaén, Avda. del Ejército Español, 10, Jaén, 23007, Spain

BACKGROUND Current trends to postpone the age of maternity and the increasing availability of techniques point to a rising demand for assisted reproduction services. These services are regarded in various ways among diverse health care systems. Even in those countries where these procedures are publicly offered and funded, more than 70% of assisted reproduction cycles are provided by the private health sector. OBJECTIVES We present a comparative analysis of assisted reproduction costs in several European countries and the USA, considering the main determinants of such costs. METHODOLOGY A systematic review of literature about the costs of assisted reproduction techniques and cost-effectiveness is carried out. RESULTS There is high variability of assisted reproduction costs among countries. Norway is the country with the lowest costs (1,164€) and the USA has the highest costs (27,012€). Drugs are one of the main determinants of costs in assisted reproduction treatments, being higher in the USA (4,499€) than in Europe. Spain has the lowest pharmaceuticals costs (900€). CONCLUSIONS Assisted reproduction treatments are more expensive in countries where patients assume the full treatment cost. Most technological advances in assisted reproduction procedures are generated in the private sector, and later adopted in the public sector. The greater availability of treatments in countries with an extended private health sector can be a crucial factor in the higher cost of assisted reproduction techniques in comparison with countries that have a more limited supply of these procedures.

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