In the present retrospective analysis of outpatient health insurance members of the Statutory Health Insurance (SHI) in total and a subgroup of the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), the effect of the commencement of the SHI Modernization Act (so-called GMG) on the supply and expenditure situation regarding assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in Germany was examined. The implementation of the GMG in Germany in 2004 resulted in a conspicuous decrease of infertility treatments (from 2002-2005 by approximately 60% in the whole SHI population, and by 55% in the TK) for couples with involuntary childlessness, whereby the extremely raised compulsory copayments to the insurance benefits were identified as the determining factor.
Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.