China population: fertility services to be covered by state insurance amid record low birth rate
- Assisted fertility technologies, along with labour analgesia to reduce pain during childbirth, will gradually be covered by state insurance in all provinces
- But a fertility specialist says a better way to encourage births is by rolling out preferential policies for care and schooling of couples’ second and third children
More local governments in China are expected to include fertility services in their medical insurance schemes under a new directive from Beijing to support births as the country grapples with a record low birth rate.
Assisted fertility technologies, along with labour analgesia to reduce pain during childbirth, will be gradually covered by state insurance in all provinces to help people seeking to have babies, the National Healthcare Security Administration said on Friday.
The administration is working with local governments on detailed measures to reduce costs for couples struggling with infertility, according to the statement, which was issued in response to a proposal from China’s top political advisory body.
Several cities rolled out similar initiatives last year, including Beijing and Xianning in Hubei province.
The announcement followed a high-profile directive from the southwestern province of Sichuan early last week that it will allow unmarried residents to register the births of an unlimited number of children.
While a few other provinces, such as Guangdong and Fujian, made similar policy changes last year, birth registrations across most of China require that parents be married and impose a limit on the number of children that can be registered.
Professor Wang Wenjun, who is an in vitro fertilisation (IVF) specialist at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, said while recent policies were well-intended to help tackle a deepening demographic crisis, they might not make much of a difference.
“The medical costs are short-term pressure for those trying to be parents. Instead of helping them get pregnant, it’s more likely to encourage births by rolling out preferential policies in the care and schooling of the second and third children,” said Wang.
“One circle of IVF normally costs between 30,000 yuan (US$4,424) and 50,000 yuan, which is expensive without medical insurance, but compared with the costs of raising a child, this is a small amount.”