A government birth subsidy, providing up to NT$100,000 (US$3,326) and proportional to the number of children born, would take effect on Jan. 1 next year, Minister Without Portfolio Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday.
The Executive Yuan’s policy would address payout discrepancies for birth subsidies across government insurance programs, Chen said.
From the first day of next year, participants in any national insurance program, such as the Civil Servants’ Insurance, the Labor Insurance, the Farmers’ Insurance, the National Insurance and the Military Personnel Insurance, would be eligible for NT$100,000 per newborn, he said.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The measure would include the 7,144 people nationwide who are not covered by any government insurance program to ensure that everyone is guaranteed basic benefits, he said.
The policy would add NT$4.72 billion to the Executive Yuan’s NT$8 billion birth subsidies fund, Chen said, adding that 127,000 people are expected to benefit from it.
Government subsidies for new parents aged 39 or younger would increase to 84 percent from 55 percent, significantly reducing the amount they pay out of pocket, he said.
The policy would also increase subsidies for couples undergoing artificial fertilization procedures, Chen said.
The policy lowers the age ceiling for women to be eligible to undergo government-funded artificial fertilization to 39 from 40 and has subsidies for up to six attempts, he said.
Subsidies for the first attempt would increase to NT$150,000 from NT$100,000, while subsidies for the second and third attempts would be NT$100,000, up from NT$60,000, he said.
Subsidies for attempts No. 4 to 6 would remain NT$60,000, he added.
Women aged 39 to 44 would be eligible for subsidies for three attempts, NT$130,000 for the first, NT$80,000 for the second and NT$60,000 for the third, he said.
The decision to prioritize those aged 39 and younger was to encourage couples in need to seek medical help at an earlier age, Chen said.
Low-to-middle-income families are still eligible for the maximum NT$150,000 subsidies, he added.
Women aged 39 or younger have to have one fertilized embryo implanted per attempt to be eligible for the subsidies, while those aged 40 or older may have two, he said.
The Executive Yuan’s policy also subsidizes cryopreservation, targeting women aged 28 to 30, with payments of NT$70,000 for the process, and NT$8,000 for oocyte retrieval, processing and preservation, Chen said.
Women whose ovarian function has been damaged as a result of conditions such as breast cancer, bloodborne diseases, lymphoma or multiple myeloma can apply if they are referred by a doctor, Chen added.
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