우리나라의 난임 지원제도에 관한 고찰

Abstract

In 2021, Korea’s total fertility rate was 0.81, falling to an all-time low. The Korean government is injecting a considerable amount of budget to increase the fertility rate, but its effect is evaluated as insignificant. To increase the fertility rate, it is important to provide a better environment to raise children after childbirth, but the support before the pregnancy stage should be preceded. In other words, it is necessary to support infertility couples who want to have babies but are unable to conceive. The Mother and Child Health Act provides for the support for overcoming subfertility. However, such support has its limitations: the subject is limited to households whose earning is less than 180% of standard medium income; the total number of medical procedures for infertility provided to infertile couples is limited; and the copay is still high even though the government provides subsidies to cover treatment for infertility. The Korean government keeps its stance to continuously expand the coverage of the support and the number of infertility treatment to be administered and to increase the subsidies to be provided while it still takes overseas cases, saying there is no government to provide support for infertility treatment unconditionally. Given its plummeting birth rates in Korea, the Korean government should not compare its policies for supporting infertile couples with those in other countries. In addition, it seems that the support for infertile couples who are eager to having babies but are unable to conceive can be the most efficient policy to resolve low birth issues. Thus, it is necessary to improve the systems to provide all the expenses to cover treatment for infertility, without any condition or limitation, to the infertility couples who want to have babies.