Infertility drugs, examinations free of charge from Feb 1

The government is committed to helping childless couples and will make infertility drugs and related examinations available free of charge from February 1, the state secretary in charge of health care said on Monday. Ildiko Horvath also announced that new protocols have been introduced to ensure updated diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. She added that the government has incresed the number of fertility treatment centres to 12 nationwide. The programme, Horvath said, will have 10.6 billion forints (EUR 11.8m) at its disposal each year to finance diagnostic procedures and drugs that patients have so far had to pay for. Currently, one in seven married couples in Hungary is childless, affecting 150,000 people. Thanks to the new scheme, the government expects the number of births to reach 4,000 in 2022, the state secretary added.