Recently, the National Medical Insurance Bureau issued the "Reply to Recommendation No. 5581 of the Fourth Session of the Thirteenth National People's Congress (9.15)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Reply"), which clearly states: "Population development is a major matter related to the development of the Chinese nation. In order to promote the long-term balanced development of the population, the medical insurance department has included ovulation-promoting drugs such as bromocriptine, tripriline and clomiphene into the scope of payment, which has improved the level of drug protection for infertility patients. At the same time, in terms of diagnosis and treatment projects, we will guide all localities, based on the positioning of "basic insurance", on the basis of scientific calculation and full demonstration, and gradually incorporate the therapeutic assisted reproductive technology that medical insurance can afford into the scope of medical insurance payment according to procedures. ”
So how should this "reply" be interpreted? What are the implications for the assisted reproduction industry?
Figure 1: Reply of the National Medical Insurance Bureau to Recommendation No. 5581 of the Fourth Session of the 13th National People's Congress (9.15)
Source: National Medical Insurance Bureau, Compiled by Gelonghui
< h1 toutiao-origin="h3" > the future of assisted reproduction into medical insurance, what is the impact? </h1>
For the medical insurance bureau's reply that it may include assisted reproduction in the scope of medical insurance, the impact can be seen from the three dimensions of changes in the assisted reproduction industry, medical insurance coverage and impact categories.
First of all, for the assisted reproduction industry, the penetration rate is expected to increase. According to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics, among the age proportion of women registered for marriage in China, the proportion of women over 35 years of non-optimal childbearing age has increased year by year, and the trend of late marriage and late childbearing and the increase in infertility is also highly overlapping. At present, the infertility rate of couples of childbearing age in China has climbed to 12%-18%. According to CITIC Securities data, the total price of IVF single cycle in China is about 4-50,000 yuan, and the penetration rate is about 7%, which is still much more room for improvement compared with other countries. If assisted reproductive treatment programs enter medicare, it will help patients to bear the burden, attract more patients to receive IVF, and increase industry penetration.
Secondly, entering the scope of medical insurance is "based on the basics of insurance", and differentiated services have become the driving force for the long-term development and growth of high-quality private medical service institutions. According to the "reply" given by the National Medical Insurance Bureau, it is clear that medical insurance will be "based on the basics" and cover the basic medical part. From the perspective of industry comparison, taking obstetrics as an example, the same obstetrics subjects belong to the scope of medical insurance, but the categories included in medical insurance reimbursement are mainly basic medical services, and there are reimbursement limits. Differentiated or multi-level services for patients will not be covered by Medicare (e.g., endometrial admissibility assessment, stem cells, AI diagnostics, etc.). In the future, if assisted reproduction enters medical insurance, for private medical service institutions, it is expected that the future will develop differentiated and multi-level services, thus driving performance growth.
Finally, assisted reproduction enters the scope of medical insurance, and the impact of the audience will mainly come from the aspect of pharmaceutical consumables. From the "reply" of the Medical Insurance Bureau, it can be seen that "the medical insurance department has included ovulation-promoting drugs such as bromocriptine, tripridine, and clomiphene that meet the conditions for fertility support drugs, which has improved the level of medication protection for infertility patients." In other words, in the future, related drugs for assisted reproduction are expected to begin to enter the medical insurance payment system, thereby reducing the price of pharmaceutical consumables, which will have a greater impact on relevant pharmaceutical companies. For the hospital side, whether assisted reproduction-related drug consumables enter the medical insurance has less impact on it, in the core technical service link of assisted reproduction, because the state advocates improving the value of doctors' technical services, so there is basically no price reduction pressure in the cost link of core technology services.
<h1 toutiao-origin="h3" > what about assisted reproduction policies in other countries? </h1>
The stone of his mountain can attack jade, and the author looks at the changes in assisted reproduction under the influence of policies from the perspective of overseas markets.
According to the statistics of Essence Securities, among the countries of assisted reproductive technology penetration, Japan has the highest penetration rate, followed by Australia and Europe, and the United States has the lowest penetration rate. Among them, thanks to the strong support of the Japanese government, including subsidies, the penetration rate of IVF in Japan has increased rapidly in the past 20 years.
According to public statistics, from 1973 to 2019, the number of newborns born in Japan fell from 2.092 million to 865,200, but during this period, the number of IVF babies maintained a very rapid growth. The proportion of IVF in newborns increased from 1/64 in 2003 to 1/15 in 2019.
Chart 2: Treatment cycles per million women aged 15-44 by country (left)
With IVF as percentage of newborn population (figure right)
Source: CDC of the United States, NCBI of Japan, FSA of Australia, Essence Securities, Grove Collation
One of the reasons for the sharp increase in IVF penetration in Japan is the government's strong policy support.
According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and public information, Japan began to provide assisted reproduction subsidies from 2004 to 2020 to include assisted reproduction costs in the scope of medical insurance reimbursement, although there are restrictions on age and family income in subsidies, but the effect brought by the policy dividend is remarkable. According to statistics from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the proportion of IVF in Japan has been rising, and the birth of children by assisted reproduction in 2019 has reached a record high.
In contrast, in the domestic market, once assisted reproduction begins to enter the category of medical insurance reimbursement in the future, for the consumer population, the audience scope is expanded, and the penetration rate of the domestic assisted reproduction market is expected to further increase.
Figure 3: Japan subsidizes the assisted reproduction policy
Source: Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Gelonghui
<h1 toutiao-origin="h3" > assisted reproduction private institution: Jinxin Reproduction</h1>
So, where is the future development direction of Jinxin Reproduction for assisted reproduction private institutions?
In the face of the current new pattern of China's population, the liberalization of the three-child birth policy, assisted reproduction may enter a series of population policies such as medical insurance, as a private institution of assisted reproduction, Jinxin Reproduction actively embraces and supports national policies to help the development of Chinese.
On the one hand, the company has increased investment in scientific research, promoted clinical transformation, and improved the medical level of the industry. As an IVF service provider that has provided more than 20 years, Jinxin Fertility has accumulated rich clinical data, which can combine the huge clinical needs of various hospitals to promote the transformation of scientific research results. At the same time, thanks to the advantages of listed companies, they can also reach the advanced technology in the field of global IVF in the first time. At present, Jinxin Reproductive and Jinxin Medical have established Jinxin Medical Innovation Center to accelerate scientific research innovation and clinical transformation.
On the other hand, the company improves the level of technical services to meet the needs of differentiated multi-level. For patients, assisted reproductive technology strength is a core factor in the choice of medical address. A good reputation can not only help patients, but also help companies bring new users through different communication channels. According to the number of cycles, Jinxin reproductive market position continues to lead. The number of IVF treatment cycles in the first half of 2021 reached 13,164 cases (YOY: 36.51%). On the basis of continuously improving the company's technical service level, the company is also meeting the multi-level needs of different patients, building barriers to industry competition through differentiated services, and providing growth momentum for future development.
< h1 toutiao-origin="h3" > summary</h1>
In the face of a series of practical problems such as the aging of the population structure and the delay in the childbearing age of women, how to effectively increase the fertility rate has become an important issue faced by many countries. Benchmarking has entered a deep aging and low-birthrate Japan, the integrity of state support and commercial insurance is constantly improving the penetration rate of assisted reproduction, and the number of IVF babies born is also rising.
For the discussion on the possible inclusion of assisted reproduction in medical insurance in the future, policy support will effectively increase the overall penetration rate of the domestic assisted reproduction market, and patient accessibility will be greatly improved. At the same time, it should be noted that the scope of support mainly revolves around basic medical care. In other words, the overall development of the assisted reproductive medical service industry will take a differentiated route in the future, which will also be the core driving force of the future institution.
As a private institution of assisted reproduction, Jinxin Fertility is leading the development of the industry in both technical services and scientific and technological innovation of assisted reproduction, which is worthy of attention and expectation.
This article originated from Grand Gateway
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