Is assisted reproduction included in health insurance?

On February 21, 2022, the Beijing Municipal Medical Security Bureau, together with the Municipal Health Commission and the Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, issued the "Notice on Regulating the Adjustment of Some Medical Service Price Items".

What is Assisted Reproductive Technology?

Assisted reproductive technology, the full name of "human assisted reproductive technology", refers to the use of medical technology and methods to manually operate gametes (sperm and eggs), zygotes (fertilized eggs), and embryos to achieve the purpose of conception.

(1) Artificial insemination

Artificial insemination is a method of artificially injecting semen into a woman's body instead of sexual intercourse to get pregnant

(2) In vitro fertilization-embryo transfer technology and its various derivatives

In vitro fertilization-embryo transfer technology, commonly known as in vitro fertilization, refers to the removal of eggs from women, cultured in a vessel, and the addition of technically processed sperm.

In vitro fertilization-embryo transfer and its derived technologies currently mainly include in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET), gamete or zygote intrafallopian transfer (GIFT or ZIFT), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), embryo freezing fusion (CET/FET), preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD),

Among the 16 programs included in Beijing's medical insurance, two are artificial insemination, one is second-generation IVF, three are third-generation IVF, and the rest are embryo storage and other programs

Figure 1 16 assisted reproductive technologies in Beijing will be included in medical insurance reimbursement

Source: Beijing Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau, Huachuang Securities

Low penetration and high cost of assisted reproduction

The penetration rate of assisted reproductive technology in China is low

There are two main reasons for the low penetration rate.

Specific to the price, the domestic artificial insemination cost is generally 5,000 yuan / cycle, and the cost of IVF technology is generally 25,000-40,000 yuan / cycle

A standard population will be defined clinically, that is, women younger than 35 years old with normal ovarian function

Significance of assisted reproduction included in medical insurance

The inclusion of assisted reproduction in medical insurance has three important significances:

(1) Reduce the burden of infertile couples and increase the penetration rate of assisted reproduction

After the implementation of Beijing's medical insurance adjustment policy, IVF technology can cover laboratory technologies ranging from 8,000 yuan to 11,000 yuan

Pacific Securities also pointed out that with reference to overseas experience, the subsidy policy will significantly accelerate the penetration rate of assisted reproductive technology

In Australia, the Australian government implemented two adjustments to the IVF technology subsidy policy in 2004 and 2010.

This time, Beijing has included some assisted reproductive technologies in medical insurance, which shows the government's emphasis on fertility support.

(2) The development of the industry is accelerating, and the competitive landscape is becoming clearer

Due to the high barriers of the assisted reproduction industry and the stricter national supervision and supervision, there have been few qualified assisted reproduction medical institutions

According to the "List of Medical Institutions Approved to Carry out Human Assisted Reproductive Technology and Set up Human Sperm Banks" released in 2021, by the end of 2020, there were 536 medical institutions approved to carry out human assisted reproductive technology in China, of which the first and second generation were approved.

After the announcement of the Beijing Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau's policy, the assisted reproductive sector ushered in a rise
.
On the same day, Dajia Weikang (301126.
SZ), Kangzhi Pharmaceutical (300086.
SZ), Yuexin Health (002162.
SZ), Hanshang Group (600774.
SH), Medtech (603990.
SH), etc.

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It is foreseeable that with the increase of national attention, penetration rate and market demand, the assisted reproduction industry is expected to usher in rapid development
.
As a scarce resource, assisted reproduction has greater market certainty and will breed more opportunities in the future
.

(3) Increase the fertility rate and reproductive health rate of my country's population

The key points of the 2022 work announced by the China Family Planning Association recently emphasized that this year, it is necessary to implement reproductive health promotion actions, carry out special actions for artificial abortion intervention for unmarried people, and reduce unintended pregnancies and induced abortions among adolescents.
Protect female fertility to increase population fertility and reproductive health in China
.

Assisted reproductive technology is mainly aimed at infertile families who are willing to bear children.
The inclusion of assisted reproduction in medical insurance can reduce the reproductive burden of such families and increase their chances of trying assisted reproductive technology, which can effectively increase the fertility rate of infertile families
.

On the other hand, genetic testing programs in assisted reproductive technology are available to all families
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In September last year, the Beijing Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau for the first time included non-invasive prenatal genetic testing into the category A medical insurance payment.
This test is mainly aimed at women over the age of 35.
Peripheral blood can be drawn to detect fetal trisomy 21 and 18-trisomy.
Whether the trisomy and trisomy 13 are abnormal, if abnormal, the fetus will have Down's syndrome, Edward's syndrome, and Patau's syndrome, respectively
.
By including genetic testing and other items into medical insurance, it will improve the accessibility of genetic testing and improve the reproductive health rate in China
.

The inclusion of assisted reproductive technology in medical insurance is another policy to promote population growth after the "second child" and "third child" in China
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The difference is that this policy is mainly aimed at infertile families.
These groups of people have a strong desire to have children, but they cannot be realized due to physical and economic reasons
.
After including assisted reproduction in medical insurance, on the one hand, it can realistically solve the reproductive needs of these people, and on the other hand, it will gradually improve the degree of assisted reproduction being known and accepted by the public, thereby promoting the development and penetration of the assisted reproduction industry, and ultimately increasing the population of our country.
Fertility and reproductive health rates
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Beijing's inclusion of assisted reproduction in medical insurance this time is a major breakthrough.
In the future, it is expected that more provinces will introduce relevant policies to further clarify relevant details, so as to meet the basic needs of the people without placing a large burden on the medical insurance fund
.