Standard Childbirth Costs to Be Fully Covered by Insurance; New System Would Replace Current Lump-Sum Payment

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:05 JST, December 3, 2025

The health ministry was expected to propose Thursday that standard childbirth costs be covered entirely by public health insurance, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

The proposal was to be made to the committee on health insurance, a panel under the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry’s Social Security Council, as part of efforts to help alleviate financial concerns over childbirth and strengthen measures to combat the declining birthrate.

The ministry plans to submit a related bill to the ordinary session of the Diet next year at the earliest.

Full insurance coverage is expected to go into effect in fiscal 2027 or later, after the details are finalized. This would replace the ¥500,000 lump-sum payment that the government currently provides for childbirth.

Fees for childbirth vary between medical institutions, and they have been rising every year due to high prices and other reasons. The cost also varies widely from region to region. Although standard childbirth cost ¥519,805 on average in fiscal 2024, the average fee in Tokyo was more than ¥640,000.

Establishing a uniform cost set by the government under the full coverage system is aimed at eliminating inequality based on where women reside or at which facility they give birth. It is also meant to improve the transparency of the fee system.

Because delivery costs vary greatly between individual women, the ministry is considering paying medical service fees to medical institutions based on the number of deliveries they handle.

However, pregnant women will continue to be responsible for 30% of medical costs for procedures such as Cesarean sections and other care for non-standard deliveries and pregnancy complications.

Services provided after childbirth, such as special meals to celebrate a child’s arrival, massages, esthetic treatments or commemorative photos, will be fully out-of-pocket, in principle.

In June, the government included a policy of promoting measures aimed at “eliminating out-of-pocket payments for standard childbirth by fiscal 2026” in its “Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform.”