China Wants More Babies. IVF Isn’t Delivering: Dispatch

For six years, Chen Huaxi has been trying to have a child, spending almost 100,000 yuan ($14,000) on in vitro fertilization treatments. So when she heard her province in northeast China had added IVF to its medical insurance program, the 38-year-old clothing shop owner felt a flicker of hope.

That quickly faded. Only eight basic procedures including egg retrieval and embryo development are covered in Liaoning province, leaving out costly but essential services such as imported medicines, genetic screening and embryo freezing.

“The reimbursement rules are really complicated, but what’s clear to me is it won’t really change much,” says ...