More regions see subsidized fertility services

About 1.03 million assisted reproductive consultations or therapies costing nearly 2 billion yuan ($270 million) were reimbursed by public medical insurance from January to September, as a growing number of regions started providing subsidized assisted fertility treatment, the National Healthcare Security Administration said late last month.

Earlier last month, the administration released a trial guideline that consolidates various fertility therapies into 12 major categories and laid out service pricing standards to better regulate the sector.

So far, 27 provincial-level regions, including Beijing, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and the provinces of Jiangxi and Shandong, have extended medical insurance coverage to a slew of assisted reproductive therapies, it said in a statement.

The widening reimbursement of assisted reproductive services is part of a broader push led by the administration to reduce childbearing costs for families.

It said that in the first three quarters of this year, the nation's maternity insurance funds spent 89.3 billion yuan, up 11.5 percent from last year.

China's maternity insurance guarantees that employed women on maternity or childcare leave receive basic salaries, maternity subsidies and reimbursement for medical expenses related to pregnancy.

As of the end of last year, 249 million women have joined the insurance program, including workers with flexible employment or those with new types of jobs, such as delivery agents.

More than 80 percent of newborns enroll in the basic insurance program within the year of their birth, compared to around 50 percent in the past few years.

Meanwhile, the administration said that since 2018, 174 types of pediatric medications have been added to the national drug reimbursement list following price negotiations with manufacturers, accounting for nearly 24 percent of newly added medications.

These drugs targeted over 20 types of pediatric diseases, including neurological and respiratory illnesses and rare diseases. For instance, the price of nusinersen sodium injections, which treat a rare disease called spinal muscular atrophy, has been cut from 700,000 yuan per dose to 30,000 yuan.

The administration's bulk procurement programs have also covered several pediatric drugs, it added.

The administration said it will make further efforts to improve its maternity insurance system and take advantage of various healthcare security tools to cut fertility costs and help promote high-quality demographic development.

wangxiaoyu@chinadaily.com.cn