Assisted reproductive technologies set for inclusion in national medical insurance

China’s National Healthcare Security Administration announced on Sunday the inclusion of labor analgesia and assisted fertility technology in the coverage of medical insurance as part of boarder efforts to safeguard people’s reproductive rights and fertility willingness, following the recent adjustments of birth registration in some places.

The move came after the population in the Chinese mainland fell for the first time in 61 years in 2022, decreasing by a total of 850,000, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed.

A survey conducted by the National Health Commission in 2021 showed that women of childbearing age continue to have low intention of having children, and factors such as heavy financial pressure and concerns about career development have become major obstacles to childbearing.

Earlier, many provinces including Southwest China’s Sichuan and South China’s Guangdong announced that they will end restrictions on marital status and the number of births used for the registration of newborns, further simplifying the registration process.

The incidence of infertility in China increased from 11.9 percent to 15.5 percent between 2007 and 2010, and approached 18 percent by 2020. The number of infertile couples in China reached 50.5 million in 2020, according to media reports.

Currently, the inclusion of appropriate labor analgesia and assisted reproductive technology projects into medical insurance will make a positive contribution to reducing the medical burden of more patients across the country, said the National Healthcare Security Administration. The new policy also encourages hospitals of traditional Chinese medicine to open fertility clinics to provide infertility diagnosis and treatment to patients.