Global Market Access Solutions, St Prex, Switzerland.
Reprod Biomed Online. 2011 Dec;23(7):817-9. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2011.09.006. Epub 2011 Sep 21.
From an economist's perspective, cross-border reproductive care (CBRC) reflects a global market economy bringing together the needs of patients and skills of doctors at an agreed price. From this perspective CBRC is neither wrong nor right, rather it reflects rational economic behaviour of couples to maximize their wellbeing. The major economic criticism of CBRC relates to the costs and risks of multiple pregnancies, as couples paying out-of-pocket may have more embryos transferred than is desirable to optimize their chances of having a live birth. This criticism is valid, suggesting a need to communicate the hidden costs of failing to adequately fund fertility services. However, under some circumstances health authorities may be willing to bear these additional costs if the savings from not providing fertility services are sufficiently large enough to warrant a no-funding policy. Because infertility is often viewed as a low health priority, the likelihood of CBRC persisting is real, particularly as many health services adjust to the challenges of ageing populations and decreased public financing. To counter funding challenges, there is a need to communicate the medical benefits of assisted reproduction and the economic benefits that these children will offer in an era of austerity and ageing populations.
从经济学家的角度来看，跨境生殖保健（CBRC）反映了全球市场经济将患者的需求和医生的技能以双方同意的价格结合在一起。从这个角度来看，CBRC 既没有对也没有错，而是反映了夫妻双方最大化自身幸福的理性经济行为。对 CBRC 的主要经济批评涉及多胎妊娠的成本和风险，因为自费的夫妇可能会转移比理想情况下更多的胚胎，以优化他们活产的机会。这种批评是合理的，表明需要沟通未能充分为生育服务提供资金的隐性成本。然而，在某些情况下，如果不提供生育服务的节省足以证明不提供资金的政策是合理的，卫生当局可能愿意承担这些额外的成本。由于不孕不育通常被视为低健康优先级，因此跨境生殖保健持续存在的可能性是真实存在的，尤其是因为许多卫生服务正在适应人口老龄化和公共资金减少的挑战。为了应对资金挑战，有必要沟通辅助生殖的医疗益处，以及这些孩子在紧缩和人口老龄化时代将带来的经济益处。
