Over 21,000 couples benefited from IVF treatment subsidies since 2021

Taipei, Feb. 17 (CNA) More than 21,000 couples have benefited from government subsidies for in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment since mid-2021, including four who have been approved to try for a third child, according to data released on Monday.

Since July 2021, a total of 21,514 couples has received subsidies of up to NT$150,000 (US$4,580.7), with 24,653 babies born with the help of IVF treatments, as of Dec. 31, 2024, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said in a statement Monday.

They included 657 couples who had a second child, and four who were approved to try for a third baby, according to the HPA.

The number of newborns involving IVF treatments hit 9,034 in 2024, up from 8,536 in 2023 and 7,083 in 2022, the agency under the Ministry of Health and Welfare said.

The government's IVF treatment subsidy scheme was revised in July 2021 to restrict the number of embryos implanted for each treatment to ensure full-term birth of healthy babies, according to the statement.

Under the revised schemed, 75.8 percent of newborns were carried to full term (at least 37 weeks), up 11 percent from 2020, while 77.1 percent of the babies were born weighing at least 2,500 grams, 10.7 percent more than the 2020 data, the HPA said.

In addition, the income requirement was removed in mid-2021 to allow more couples to apply for the subsidy, HPA official Tsai Way-yi (蔡維誼) told CNA.

Before the subsidy scheme was revised, only low-income families could apply for financial assistance for IVF treatments, according to Tsai.

Today, low-income couples can apply for up to NT$150,000 for each IVF treatment, up to a maximum of six attempts per child, while those in higher income groups can receive up to NT$100,000 for the first treatment and then up to a maximum of NT$600,000, according to the HPA.

The subsidy covers up to 40-50 percent of the cost of IVF treatment, Tsai said.

For a married woman under 40 years old, a couple can apply for subsidies up to six times to have a child, while the number of subsidized treatments for women aged 40-44 is capped at three, the HPA said.

The subsidies are available to women aged up to 44, as along as she or her husband holds Taiwanese citizenship and the couple have registered their marriage with the household registration authorities, according to the HPA.

HPA Director General Wu Chao-chun (吳昭軍) urged couples to take advantage of the best childbearing years when the wife is 25-35 years old.

If a doctor determines a couple require IVF treatments to have a child, they can apply for the subsidy through 103 government-contracted medical institutions, Wu said in the statement.