China population: Beijing adds fertility services to insurance coverage to aid slowing birth rate
- A total of 16 medical services using assisted reproductive technologies will be covered by the city’s state insurance from March 26
- Official data showed China’s birth rate dropped to a record low in 2021, extending a downward trend
Beijing will include more than a dozen fertility services in a government-backed medical insurance scheme for the Chinese capital, state media reported on Monday, supporting those seeking to have babies with China’s birth rate at a record low.
A total of 16 medical services using assisted reproductive technologies will be covered by the city’s state insurance effective from March 26, in a move to “take proactive fertility support measures”, according to the Beijing Daily.
The new reproductive coverage could help lower out-of-pocket costs and benefit couples in lower income brackets seeking to have babies and those with little or no access to private medical insurance.
China will work towards achieving an “appropriate” birth rate, Premier Li Keqiang said at the start of the annual parliamentary meeting in March last year.
