Deficit in maternity insurance caused by two-child policy

China's maternity insurance recorded a small deficit due to the comprehensive implementation of the two-child policy, but the overall balance is enough to pay for another 15.3 months, said China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

The ministry said that the maternity insurance revenue in 2016 reached 52.19 billion yuan ($7.6 billion) compared with the annual expenditure of 53.06 billion yuan ($7.7 billion). The deficit only appeared during a short period, which could be attributed to the comprehensive implementation of the two-child policy, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Tuesday.

The ministry stressed that despite the small deficit, overall there is a healthy balance, with the amount of 67.59 billion yuan ($9.8 billion).

Official statistics show that by the end of 2016, 184 million people applied for national maternity insurance and 9 million people have benefited from the insurance, among which, around 6 million received medical treatment and 3 million received allowance.

Average expenditure of the government on maternity insurance was 15,385 yuan.

Since the comprehensive implementation of the two-child policy in 2016, China's newborn population have reached 18.46 million per year - the highest level since 2000, according to statistics from China's National Health and Family Planning Commission.

The adjustment in China's population policy has caused a significant rise in the birth of second children.

At the same time, in a bid to ease the second-child burden on maternity insurance paid by enterprises, the human resources ministry issued a notification on lowering the maternity insurance contribution in 2015, and 25 provinces have adjusted the rate.

According to data revealed by China's authorities, the national maternity insurance contribution was 0.618 percent of a person's total salary in 2016.

Besides, a new policy on combining the maternity insurance and basic medical insurance was launched in 12 pilot cities for a more egalitarian and sustainable development in the first half of 2017.

Before the new policy's implementation, China's social insurance funds included basic pension funds, basic medical insurance, unemployment insurance, work-related injury insurance and maternity insurance.