BEIJING – China's maternity insurance system has continued to expand its coverage and strengthen support for childbirth, with measures to cut out-of-pocket spending on childbirth and ensure more benefits reach the public, according to the National Healthcare Security Administration on Friday.

In the first seven months of this year, the maternity insurance fund spent 78.42 billion yuan (about $11.6 billion), providing benefits in 25.56 million instances, Wang Wenjun, deputy head of the administration, said at a press conference as part of a series on the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

Of the total spending, 60.78 billion yuan went toward maternity allowances, which are now fully paid directly to individuals, Wang added.

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In recent years, China has developed a full-cycle maternity support system covering pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and childbirth, and child-rearing, with measures including maternity allowances, childcare subsidies, medical insurance reimbursement and affordable childcare services to ease the financial burden on families.

Currently, 260 million people are covered by maternity insurance, and many regions are expanding coverage to allow flexible workers to enroll in maternity insurance alongside employee medical insurance.

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A total of 303 areas in 28 provincial-level regions have moved to eliminate out-of-pocket payments for inpatient childbirth within policy limits. All provinces have included assisted reproductive services in medical insurance coverage, while labor pain relief is now eligible for medical insurance reimbursement nationwide.

These efforts come amid growing demographic pressures. Since 2022, China's population has been shrinking, while the number of older people has continued to rise. Challenges including a declining birth rate and an aging population have become increasingly prominent.

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Against this backdrop, building a "birth-friendly society" has become a key focus of China's 15th Five-Year Plan. The outline sets out measures including incentives to encourage births and efforts to reduce the costs of childbirth, childcare and education. It says the goal is to stabilize the number of newborns and support long-term balanced population development.

China will further strengthen maternity insurance coverage during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Wang said. Efforts will focus on ensuring that flexible workers, migrant workers and workers in new forms of employment enrolled in basic medical insurance for employees can also participate in maternity insurance.

The country will also improve coverage for prenatal examinations, work toward ensuring that people have basically no out-of-pocket costs for inpatient childbirth within the scope of the relevant policies, and further expand direct cross-region settlement of maternity-related medical expenses, Wang added.