Chungnam Expands Support for 'Infertile Couples'... Includes Men and Removes Age Limit

[Asia Economy (Naepo) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is expanding the eligibility for traditional Korean medicine treatment support for local infertile couples.

Starting from the 21st, the province will remove the age limit for infertile women (previously under 44 years old) and provide treatment cost support for infertile men, thereby relaxing the eligibility criteria for traditional Korean medicine treatment support.

The traditional Korean medicine treatment support project is a low birthrate countermeasure policy aimed at improving the health of infertile couples struggling to conceive and reducing their economic burden.

The support target includes legally married infertile couples who have resided in Chungnam for more than six months as of the application date and have maintained a normal marital life for over a year without conceiving.

Men are eligible for support if their infertility diagnosis includes male factors or unexplained causes. Additionally, support is available if one or two of the following semen analysis criteria are met: sperm count of 15 million/ml or less, motile sperm less than 40% of the total, or normal-shaped sperm less than 14% of the total.

However, those diagnosed with complete azoospermia, those who tested positive in preliminary pregnancy reaction tests, or those with early menopause, fallopian tube obstruction, intra-abdominal organ adhesion, or cases where short-term traditional Korean medicine treatment is unsuitable due to endometriosis are excluded from support.

Support is available once a year, and the amount is KRW 1.5 million for women and KRW 1 million for men when receiving acupuncture and moxibustion treatments once a week for three months at one of the 60 designated Korean medicine clinics in the province (with co-payment).

Details on application procedures, required documents, and designated clinics can be obtained through local public health centers or health care centers.

A provincial official stated, “Based on this year’s project results, including the number of men supported and pregnancy success rates, we plan to consider expanding the traditional Korean medicine treatment support project for infertile couples unconditionally.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.