Financial Services Association, Oct. 28: The General Office of the State Council recently issued “Certain Measures on Accelerating the Improvement of the Maternity Support Policy System and Promoting the Construction of a Fertility-Friendly Society” (hereinafter referred to as “Certain Measures”).

Guided by ****'s ideology of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, the “Certain Measures” comprehensively implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress and the Second and Third Plenums of the 20th CPC Central Committee, adhere to the people-centered idea of development, understand, adapt and lead the new normal of population development, improve the fertility support policy system and incentive mechanism, improve the population service system covering the whole population and the whole life cycle, effectively reduce the cost of childbearing, nurturing and education, and create a good atmosphere where the whole society respects and supports childbearing, providing strong support for achieving a moderate level of fertility and promoting high-quality population development.

The “Certain Measures” propose a series of fertility support measures from 4 aspects.

The first is to strengthen support for maternity services. Strengthen the maternity insurance coverage function, and guide places that are in a position to do so to include flexible workers, migrant workers, and people with new forms of employment who participate in employees' basic medical insurance in maternity insurance. Improve the maternity leave system to ensure that maternity leave such as maternity leave, maternity incentive leave, paternity leave, and childcare leave as stipulated in laws and regulations are in place. Establish a maternity allowance system, guide local authorities to make good policy connections, and actively and steadily implement them. Strengthen reproductive health services and guide all regions to include appropriate delivery analgesia and assisted reproductive technology programs in the scope of medical insurance reimbursement.

The second is to strengthen the construction of a childcare service system. Improve the level of medical services for children, and promptly include eligible children's medication in the scope of medical insurance reimbursement in accordance with procedures. Increase the supply of inclusive childcare services, give priority to achieving full coverage of comprehensive childcare service centers at the municipal level, vigorously develop embedded community childcare, actively support the development of various models such as daycare by employers and family childcare centers, and vigorously develop integrated childcare services. Improve inclusive childcare support policies, and encourage places that are in a position to do so to provide appropriate operating subsidies to inclusive childcare institutions in line with actual practice. Promoting child development and protection.

The third is to strengthen support measures such as education, housing, and employment. Expand the supply of quality education resources, support primary and secondary schools to actively carry out after-school services and social practice projects, and encourage all regions to introduce specific implementation measures to enroll many girls in the same school. Strengthen housing support policies and encourage places that are in a position to do so to increase support for families with many children to buy homes. Strengthen the protection of employees' rights and interests, and encourage employers to adopt flexible commuting and telecommuting methods in line with actual practice to create a family-friendly working environment.

Fourth, create a child-friendly social atmosphere. Actively build a new culture of marriage and childbearing, and vigorously promote a positive view of marriage, childbearing, and family. Strengthen social publicity and promotion, and implement special actions to publicize and educate high-quality population development. Strengthen education on population conditions and national policies, and integrate relevant content into primary and secondary schools and undergraduate education.

The “Certain Measures” require that all regions and relevant departments should effectively raise their political standing, enhance their sense of responsibility and mission to do a good job with the population in the new era, refine, implement and optimize specific measures, implement the various responsibilities of the government, employers, individuals, etc., and ensure that all policies, measures and tasks to support childbearing are implemented and effective.

On speeding up the improvement of the maternity support policy system

Measures to promote the construction of a childbirth-friendly society

In order to improve the population development support and service system and promote high-quality population development, the following measures are proposed to speed up the improvement of the maternity support policy system and promote the construction of a childbirth-friendly society.

I. General Requirements

Guided by ****'s ideology of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress and the Second and Third Plenums of the 20th CPC Central Committee, fully and accurately implement the new development concept, adhere to the people-centered idea of development, understand, adapt and lead the new normal of population development, strengthen overall planning, strengthen departmental collaboration, deepen reform and innovation, improve the fertility support policy system and incentive mechanism, and improve the population service system covering the whole population and the whole life cycle to effectively reduce the cost of childbearing, upbringing and education, and create a good atmosphere where the whole society respects and supports childbearing, to achieve moderation Fertility Level provides strong support for promoting high-quality population development.

II. Strengthen support for maternity services

(1) Enhance the maternity insurance protection function. Strengthen the role of maternity insurance in protecting insured female employees' maternity medical expenses, maternity allowances, etc. Guide places that are in a position to do so to include flexible workers, migrant workers, and people with new forms of employment who participate in basic medical insurance for workers in maternity insurance. Do a good job of guaranteeing maternity medical expenses for the unemployed. Research and improve the maternity insurance system, and further strengthen the maternity support and guarantee function.

(2) Improve the maternity leave system. All regions should improve maternity leave policies, coordinate multi-channel funding, establish reasonable cost sharing mechanisms, step up supervision of the implementation of maternity leave, and ensure that maternity leave, such as maternity leave, maternity incentive leave, paternity leave, and childcare leave, as stipulated in laws and regulations, are in place.

(3) Establish systems such as maternity allowances. Formulate implementation plans and management standards for the maternity allowance system, guide local authorities to make good policy connections, and actively and steadily implement them. Implement a special additional deduction policy for personal income tax for the care and education of infants and children under 3 years old. Increase personal income tax deductions.

(4) Strengthen reproductive health services. Deeply implement the Maternal and Child Safety Action Improvement Plan and the Birth Defect Prevention Capacity Improvement Plan. Strengthen research and application of reproductive health technology, raise the level of maternity medical services such as prenatal examinations, hospitalized delivery, and post-natal health care, standardize diagnosis and treatment practices, and improve the mothers' fertility experience. Strengthen maternity medical cost coverage, and guide all regions to include appropriate delivery analgesia and assisted reproductive technology programs in the scope of medical insurance reimbursement. Strengthen adolescent sexual and reproductive health education, prevent unwanted pregnancies, and further develop early pregnancy and abortion care services.

III. Strengthen the construction of a childcare service system

(5) Raise the level of medical services for children. Strengthen the construction of obstetrics and pediatrics departments in children's hospitals, maternal and child health care institutions, general hospitals, and traditional Chinese medicine hospitals, and promote the distribution of performance pay in favor of obstetrics and pediatrics. Accelerate the construction of child-friendly hospitals and thoroughly implement plans to promote healthy children's actions. Consolidate the health care service network for children at the grass-roots level and continuously optimize health management services for children under 6 years old. Deeply implement pediatric national regional medical center construction projects, dynamically support the development of key clinical specialties such as obstetrics and pediatrics, promote the construction of pediatric medical consortia, and promote the expansion and decline of high-quality pediatric medical resources and a balanced regional layout. Encourage research and development declarations for children, and continuously enrich the varieties, dosage forms and specifications of drugs suitable for children. Strengthen medical expenses coverage for children, and promptly include eligible children's medication in the scope of medical insurance reimbursement in accordance with procedures.

(6) Increase the supply of inclusive childcare services. All regions should coordinate investment within the central budget, local government special debt and other channel funds, carry out the construction of comprehensive childcare service centers and public childcare service networks, focus on increasing the supply of public construction trustees, increase the proportion of public nurseries, and give priority to achieving full coverage of comprehensive childcare service centers at the municipal level. Actively implement the public construction and private sector model to support the participation of social forces in providing inclusive, diverse and high-quality childcare services. According to the size and actual needs of the resident population, all regions should implement the requirements for simultaneous planning, simultaneous construction, simultaneous inspection, and simultaneous delivery of childcare service facilities and newly built residential areas, and speed up the completion of shortcomings in childcare service facilities in conjunction with urban renewal work. Coordinate various community resources, give full play to service advantages close to residents, provide more free or low-fee housing spaces, and vigorously develop embedded community childcare. Actively support the development of various models such as employers' trusteeship and family childcare centers. Consider factors such as economic development, population structure, and actual childcare needs in an integrated manner, scientifically plan the childcare service system, vigorously develop integrated childcare services, and optimize the accurate supply of childcare services.

(7) Improve inclusive childcare support policies. Implement a demonstration project by the central financial administration to support the development of inclusive childcare services. Improve the price policy for inclusive childcare services, and encourage places in a position to do so to provide appropriate operating subsidies to inclusive childcare institutions in line with actual practice. All regions should implement policies such as preferential taxes and fees for childcare services, and implementing policies such as water, electricity, gas, and heat in childcare institutions according to residents' lifestyle prices. Formulate talent training plans for the childcare industry. Organize vocational skills contests in the field of childcare. Primary medical and health care institutions should actively carry out contract services with childcare institutions to provide support for health management, disease prevention and control, and personnel training. Strengthen normalized comprehensive supervision of service management, personnel qualifications, health care, etc. of childcare institutions, and maintain the safety bottom line of childcare services.

(8) Promoting child development and protection. Establish and improve a database of health science experts and resources, and popularize scientific parenting knowledge and skills through various media channels such as radio, television, newspapers, and the Internet. Give full play to the active role of group organizations, professional service agencies, industry associations, charitable organizations, etc., and rely on grassroots forces such as village (residential) committees to provide childcare guidance services to families in various forms. Develop extensive child care services, create a safe environment, strengthen mental health services, improve the nutritional status of infants and young children, and vigorously promote early childhood development. Develop child welfare services to protect the legitimate rights and interests of children in distress.

4. Strengthen support measures for education, housing, employment, etc.

(9) Expand the supply of quality education resources. Optimize the allocation of regional education resources and establish a basic public education service supply mechanism in line with population changes. Deeply implement the “double reduction” policy, support primary and secondary schools to actively carry out after-school services and social practice programs, and strive to meet students' diverse learning needs. Promote the universal and inclusive development of preschool education, and promote the quality and balanced development of compulsory education. Encourage all regions to introduce specific implementation measures for girls attending school with many children to help solve the problem of inconvenient pick-up for parents. Improve the financial aid system covering all school groups to ensure that students from economically disadvantaged families receive timely assistance, so that they can do their best. Explore gradually expanding the scope of free education.

(10) Strengthen housing support policies. Encourage places that are in a position to do so to increase support for families with many children to buy homes, and policies such as appropriately increasing housing provident fund loan amounts can be introduced in conjunction with actual practice. Increase the effective supply of affordable housing through multiple channels, and eligible families with underage children can be given appropriate care in choosing the apartment type according to the number of underage children. Accelerate the development of the housing rental market, and gradually enable groups that rent and buy housing to enjoy the same right to public services according to local conditions.

(11) Strengthen the protection of employees' rights and interests. Improve policies to promote women's employment, and strengthen vocational skills training for female workers, especially women who have given birth and are re-employed. Employers are urged to implement special labor protection for female workers, especially during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding, in accordance with the law and regulations. Encourage employers to create a family-friendly working environment by adopting flexible commuting and telecommuting methods in line with actual practice. Employers that are in a position to do so are encouraged to set up maternal and child care facilities, provide welfare childcare services, organize and carry out winter and summer vacations and after-school child care activities, and actively help employees share the pressure of childcare.

5. Create a childbearing friendly social atmosphere

(12) Actively build a new culture of marriage and childbearing. Promote the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, promote the social value of respecting childbearing, promote age-appropriate marriage and eugenics, and encourage couples to share childcare responsibilities. Strongly promote a positive view of marriage, childbearing, and family, strengthen the construction of family tutoring and family style, and promote the formation of a new culture of socialist family civilization. Build a public service platform for young people to date in various forms. Actively carry out special services such as marriage and family counseling, marriage certification, and civilized and simple weddings. Firmly push forward the reform of marriage customs and change customs, break down stereotypes such as big wedding ceremonies and expensive bride prices, and cultivate a positive marriage culture.

(13) Strengthen social publicity and promotion. Implement special campaigns to publicize and educate the high-quality development of the population. Make full use of various media channels to strengthen publicity and interpretation of population and fertility policies, and respond positively to social concerns. Strengthen education on population conditions and national policies, and integrate relevant content into primary and secondary schools and undergraduate education. Organize and create a number of high-quality movies and TV dramas, stage plays, and online literary and artistic works, and increase the production and marketing of special programs, public service advertisements, etc. Actively play the role of group organizations in publicity and education, encourage and guide the participation of communities, units, and individuals, and jointly create a child-friendly social environment.

All regions and relevant departments should effectively raise their political standing, enhance their sense of responsibility and mission to do a good job with the population in the new era, refine, implement and optimize specific measures, implement the various responsibilities of the government, employers, individuals, etc., and ensure that all tasks of childbearing support are implemented and effective. All regions should insist that top leaders personally take responsibility, adhere to and improve the target management responsibility system, strengthen coordination, increase investment, and carefully organize implementation. It is necessary to thoroughly grasp the characteristics of population movements, promote relevant public services to follow people, and promote the rational concentration and orderly movement of urban, rural and regional populations. The National Health Commission and the National Development and Reform Commission should effectively strengthen work scheduling, promote implementation of relevant measures, work with relevant departments to strengthen policy publicity and interpretation, and do a good job of forward-looking fertility support policy research. All relevant departments should work together in accordance with the division of responsibilities to improve relevant supporting measures and strengthen policy reserves; improve population monitoring systems and forecasting and early warning systems, strengthen evaluation of policy effectiveness; strengthen local work guidance, and summarize and promote typical experiences and practices in a timely manner. Request reports on important matters in a timely manner.