Designing China's Inclusive Maternity Protection System and Assessing Its Funding Needs
China's existing maternity protection system lacks a unified design,resulting in limited coverage and insufficient benefits that do not align with the evolving population landscape.This paper proposes the establishment of an inclusive maternity protection system covering all citizens.The system includes basic medical insurance to address maternity-related medical expenses and a maternity allowance for all women giving birth.The paper estimates the funding needs and government fiscal burdens associated with the inclusive maternity protection system under various scenarios from 2021 to 2035.The findings reveal significant variation in funding needs under different scenarios.The funding needs for the first and second children contribute to approximately 90％of all children(first,second,and third children),and maternity allowance constitutes around 70％in terms of benefit types(maternity allowance,prenatal examination,and childbirth reimbursement).Urban and rural areas exhibit financing needs,with cities and towns accounting for about 85％.The additional government funds required to provide an inclusive maternity allowance for residents participating in medical insurance amount to 0.31％-0.62％of the total fiscal revenue,indicating relative affordability.The article recommends the establishment of an inclusive maternity protection system and proposes measures,such as formulating a nationwide unified and standardized prenatal examination services package covered by medical insurance as special outpatient services,reimbursed on a fee-for-service basis.Furthermore,it suggests increasing the reimbursement rate for maternity-related medical expenses.The implementation of an inclusive maternity allowance could commence at a lower benefit level to ensure financial sustainability.
万方数据
维普
