Just like in nursing homes, the fertility sector is split between controlled and free markets. Guess which is cheapest!

Free markets like Spain, Poland and the Czech Rep are much more competitive on price and have thriving medical tourist fuelled businesses says Christian Mayer, general manager at VivaNeo, a big German operator.

He contrasts that with the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Austria where strict regulations mean no greenfield opportunities.  For instance, in the Netherlands each province has just one hospital licensed to do lab work on embryos.  Exceed your budget as a clinic and you won’t get paid for the extra work, although your budget might be upped next year.

No prizes for guessing that prices are much lower in competitive countries!