Seoul City's Drastic Measures for Low Birthrate... Abolishment of 'Residence Period and Age Differentiation' in Infertility Treatment Cost Support

Seoul City has decided to completely abolish the 'residency period' and 'age-based differential requirements' for infertility treatment cost support standards to address the ultra-low birthrate crisis. The number of support instances will also be increased, marking the second measure following the abolition of income criteria last year. Seoul City has effectively removed almost all regulations on infertility treatment cost support.

On the 10th, Seoul City announced that through the expanded support plan for infertility treatment costs based on these details, it will provide more practical economic support for pregnancy and childbirth to more infertile couples.

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First, the number of infertility treatment cost support instances will increase from 22 times last year to 25 times this year, an increase of 3 times in total. Regardless of fresh or frozen embryos, there are a total of 20 in vitro fertilization and 5 artificial insemination attempts, with a maximum support cost of 1.1 million KRW per session.

The residency requirement has also been revised. The 6-month Seoul residency requirement has been removed, so as long as applicants reside in Seoul on the application date, they will receive support for treatment costs. This administrative measure considers the continuous and long-term infertility treatment needs of infertile individuals.

The age-based differential requirement, which was based on 45 years old, has also been completely abolished. This is to provide the same support to elderly infertile individuals. Those under 44 years old received 70% support based on the health insurance benefit rate, but those 45 and older only received 50%, and there was even a difference of up to about 200,000 KRW in infertility treatment cost support, causing significant difficulties for older mothers. The maximum support amount per treatment session was 300,000 to 1.1 million KRW for those under 44, depending on the type of treatment, whereas it was 200,000 to 900,000 KRW for those 45 and older.

Treatment costs can be applied for by visiting 'Government24', 'e-Health Public Portal', or the local public health center. Due to the abolition of income criteria last year, no supporting documents are required, and submission documents such as ▲ infertility diagnosis certificate ▲ couple's health insurance premium payment confirmation have also been simplified.

Earlier, in March last year, Seoul City announced the 'Infertility Support Expansion Plan', which included support for women's egg freezing costs with pregnancy and childbirth in mind, the first of its kind nationwide. The number of infertility treatment cost support cases last year was significantly increased to 35,567 cases compared to 20,096 cases in 2022. Additionally, in July last year, support for those exceeding 180% of the median income due to the abolition of income criteria reached 10,073 cases, and support for those exceeding the number of health insurance benefit applications due to the removal of partitions between treatments reached 1,172 cases.

Kim Tae-hee, Director of the Seoul City Citizen Health Bureau, said, "The abolition of residency and age-differential support requirements is expected to have a practical effect in reducing the economic burden of infertile couples who desperately want to have children and increasing the possibility of pregnancy," adding, "We will continue to expand necessary policies for infertile couples who want to have children and provide various supports that can also protect health rights."

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