Zora Health / Employer guide / Macau
Support employees through fertility treatment, and keep the talent you have invested in.
Fertility treatment rarely fits around a work calendar, and most employees go through it quietly, often while doing some of their best work. Zora Health helps you build practical fertility support, from policies and manager guidance to confidential care navigation and access to 128+ partner clinics in 16 countries, around your workforce and budget. Companies including Hilton, LinkedIn, Sanofi, HSBC, Mastercard, Carousell and Singapore Management University work with us.
Book an employer consultation Explore the cost calculator
Five things Macau HR leaders should know
- Since December 2024, a Health Bureau scheme has waived fees for up to 2 IVF or ICSI cycles at Macao Union Hospital for eligible couples. From December 2024 to February 2026 it handled 370 eligible cases, 191 of them for IVF or ICSI (Macau Daily Times, April 2026).
- IVF at private Kiang Wu Hospital cost about MOP 70,000 to 90,000 per cycle in 2024, and egg freezing about MOP 40,000. The public scheme excludes genetic testing, treatment of underlying conditions and extra cycles.
- Law No. 14/2023, in force since February 2024, limits treatment to married couples and resident de facto partners aged 18 or over with a medical indication. Single women and same-sex couples are excluded, and surrogacy is a crime.
- For births from 28 July 2026, maternity leave is 90 days, up from 70. Paternity leave stays at 5 working days. There is no statutory fertility leave, and health data is sensitive under Law 8/2005.
- A fixed annual allowance keeps the budget predictable and can cover what the public scheme leaves out: private treatment while employees wait, genetic testing, embryo storage and further cycles.
Why fertility is a business problem for employers
Fertility treatment does not fit around a work calendar. A clinic sets the date of a scan the day before. Egg collection happens when the body is ready, usually about 36 hours after a final trigger injection. Then comes a two-week wait, and for many couples, another cycle. Your team feels it: missed meetings, unexplained absences, a strong performer who suddenly goes quiet.
We found no Macau survey on fertility at work. In a 2025 Ferring survey of more than 3,600 employees and employers in Australia, France, Japan, Poland and the UK, 67% of people with fertility challenges said their workplace offered no support. In a 2023 Carrot survey of 5,000 people in Canada, India, Mexico, the UK and the US, 79% said they felt uncomfortable discussing fertility at work.
- Resignations. In the Ferring survey, 39% of employees in treatment left or considered leaving their job.
- Lower performance. In the Carrot survey, 55% said fertility challenges had hurt their work performance.
- Waiting lists. In December 2025, lawmaker Leong Sun Iok said couples in the public scheme waited several months because demand far exceeded capacity (Macau Daily Times).
- Unequal access. Single women, same-sex couples and non-resident unmarried partners are excluded, according to a University of Macau analysis of Law No. 14/2023.
What employers gain
Keep the people you spent the most to develop
Replacing an employee costs one-half to two times their annual salary, according to Gallup. In Macau, many people start treatment late: couples seeking help at Macao Union Hospital were about 37 on average, and 30% of patients were over 40, according to the Macau Daily Times, July 2025. Treatment often overlaps with senior roles.
Stand out in a tight labour market
In the Carrot survey, 65% of respondents said they would change jobs for fertility benefits. Female labour force participation in Macau was 65.1% in 2024, against 71.0% for men, and unemployment was 1.8%, according to the Macao Yearbook of Statistics 2025. In March 2026 Sands China, Wynn Macau, MGM China, Galaxy Entertainment and SJM Resorts raised paid maternity leave to 90 days and paternity leave to 7 days for staff with at least 1 year of service, according to the Macau Daily Times and Macau Post Daily.
Make fertility support financially predictable
There is no published Macau medical trend figure. In November 2025, WTW projected group medical costs in neighbouring Hong Kong to rise 9.9% in 2026, after 9.7% in 2025, so a capped allowance is easier to plan than open-ended cover.
Zora helps employers structure benefits around local costs and the law, within an agreed budget.
Want to see what this would look like for your Macau workforce?
What IVF costs, and what the state pays
In the public route, couples register at Conde S. Januário Hospital and are treated at Macao Union Hospital, run with Peking Union Medical College Hospital from mainland China. The private route is Kiang Wu Hospital, which has offered assisted reproduction since 2018.
| Item | Typical cost | Public position |
|---|---|---|
| IVF cycle at Kiang Wu Hospital (private) | MOP 70,000 to 90,000 | Not covered by the public scheme |
| Egg freezing at Kiang Wu Hospital (private) | About MOP 40,000 on average | Not covered; storage fees not published |
| IVF or ICSI at Macao Union Hospital (public scheme) | Fees waived for eligible couples | Up to 2 cycles, each with one egg collection and one embryo transfer |
Sources: Kiang Wu IVF price from Macau Post Daily, October 2024 and Macau Daily Times, November 2024; egg freezing from Macau Post Daily, April 2024; public scheme from Macau Post Daily, November 2024 and Macau Daily Times, January 2026. No published price list exists; prices depend on drugs and protocol.
| Item | Public support (or own savings) | What the employee still carries |
|---|---|---|
| Assisted reproduction subsidy scheme (from December 2024) | Fee waiver after a clinical assessment; couples with a child can apply | Waiting time, underlying conditions such as diabetes, genetic testing (third-generation IVF) and further cycles |
| Embryo freezing after a subsidised cycle | Billed in 6-month blocks (lawmaker, December 2025) | Storage costs, which grow during waits |
| Childcare allowance (introduced in 2025) | MOP 18,000 a year per child of permanent residents up to age 3, paid after birth | All treatment costs |
| Birth allowance | MOP 6,500 per birth | All treatment costs |
Sources: scheme eligibility from Macao News, November 2024 and Macau Daily Times, July 2025; embryo storage from Macau Daily Times, December 2025; childcare allowance from Macau Business and Macau Daily Times, May 2026; birth allowance from Macau Business, 2026.
Age is one of the strongest predictors of IVF success. Macau publishes no rates by age; in neighbouring Hong Kong, in 2023, the ongoing pregnancy rate for IVF with fresh embryos was about 50% for women aged 26 to 30 and 8% for women aged 40 to 45, from Council on Human Reproductive Technology data cited by the Hong Kong government.
Kiang Wu Hospital reported an overall success rate of 48% in October 2024 without saying how it was measured, so it is not comparable. With the public scheme capped at 2 cycles, the size and timing of an allowance matter as much as offering one.
Give Employees Access to Fertility Specialists Across Asia
Help employees navigate fertility care with access to doctors and clinics, treatment information, and clear guidance on IVF, egg freezing and other fertility options. Employees can explore their options privately, without needing to go through HR.
Fertility support that fits your workforce and budget
You do not need to overhaul your existing health insurance to support employees through fertility treatment. Start with awareness and manager education, add confidential one-to-one support, or introduce a funded allowance across your offices. There is no minimum company size.
Where included in the employer programme, eligible employees can use talks and care navigation without paying Zora a separate fee. Care navigation allowances are set in each proposal. Treatment and other third-party costs are paid separately, either by employees or through the fertility allowance their employer provides.
Companies starting the conversation
Essentials
Expert-led talks for employees and managers, fertility and menopause policy templates, manager guides and full access to the Zora app. Up to 2 talks a year.
Employees supported one to one
Navigation
Everything in Essentials, plus confidential one-to-one care navigation and access to our partner clinic network.
Large and multi-country teams
Complete
Everything in Navigation, plus quarterly anonymised reporting, a dedicated account manager and scheduled review meetings with HR.
Optional add-ons can be added to any programme, subject to availability: hormone and fertility diagnostics and telehealth with specialists. Pricing is tailored to your headcount, your countries and the services you choose. Most companies start with a single talk.
Request a proposal See how Zora works for employers
Comparing fertility benefit providers? Use our RFP question bank
Our RFP question bank has 40 questions, with why each one matters, what a good answer looks like and a scoring sheet for three providers. Six of the questions for Macau:
- Are local-plan employees covered, or only staff on international health plans?
- Do you require an infertility diagnosis before support starts?
- How does your allowance work alongside the Health Bureau’s fee waiver at Macao Union Hospital, and can employees use it for private treatment at Kiang Wu Hospital while they wait?
- Can employees use the benefit for treatment in Hong Kong, Zhuhai or elsewhere in mainland China, and how do you handle the different rules there?
- How do you set eligibility given that Law No. 14/2023 limits treatment to married couples and resident de facto partners, and what do you offer employees who fall outside it, including non-resident workers?
- How do you handle sensitive health data under Law 8/2005, and is any data transferred outside Macau?
Your download link appears here as soon as you submit. Zora Health may contact you about employee benefits; see our privacy policy.
Plan your fertility benefit budget
Fertility benefit budget planner
Model the annual claims budget for a fertility allowance. Change any number.
This is a claims budget, not a Zora quotation. Zora’s programme fees, implementation and optional services are separate.
Illustration only. Utilisation is an editable assumption, not observed Zora data. The calculation assumes each user claims their full annual allowance, and excludes programme fees and setup costs. For a tailored model, request an employer proposal.
Estimate the potential workforce impact of fertility challenges
A rough planning scenario. It applies a global infertility estimate to your headcount, so it is not a prediction for your workforce, a measured loss or a forecast of savings from any programme.
Range: MOP 1,503,333 to MOP 4,253,333 a year, depending on replacement cost.
Assumptions: infertility affects about 1 in 6 adults (World Health Organization, 2023), applied to employees aged 25 to 44. Replacing an employee costs one-half to two times their annual salary (Gallup, 2019); the headline uses the low end. Absence is valued at salary divided by 250 working days. Exit rate and days lost are your own assumptions.
This is a hypothetical cost scenario, not a prediction of actual employee departures, an estimate of Zora’s financial impact or a guaranteed saving from fertility benefits.
Already have corporate health insurance? Here is where Zora fits
Your medical plan may cover some consultations and tests, but fertility treatment is often limited or excluded, so check your policy wording. Employees still need to understand their options, the public funding they qualify for and which clinic suits them.
Zora works alongside your existing insurance and benefits. We help employees get reliable information, navigate their care options and reach suitable specialists, and we give HR manager guidance, policy templates and, on the Complete programme, anonymised reporting. You strengthen fertility support without replacing your medical plan.
How Zora works
For your employees
Employees join the Zora app with a company code, or single sign-on for larger teams. They can learn about fertility and egg freezing, understand what your benefit covers, book a confidential care navigation call and find partner clinics and specialists.
For HR
- Kick-off, week 1. Agree goals, countries and which employees are eligible.
- Policy and benefit design, weeks 2 to 4. Draft or update your fertility policy using our templates.
- Launch, typically weeks 4 to 6. A launch talk for employees and managers, plus a communications pack for HR to send.
- Live support. Employees book care navigation calls and use the Zora app.
- Reporting, every 3 months, on the Complete programme. Anonymised usage, common themes and our recommendations, reviewed with your account manager.
Privacy
Employee privacy is central to our programmes. On the Complete programme, routine employer reports contain aggregated engagement and utilisation information, with safeguards to prevent identification of individual employees. On every programme, personal health information is not included in standard HR reporting, and employees can get help without telling their manager. Where eligibility checks or claims administration need individual-level data, access is limited to authorised parties for defined purposes, as agreed in writing before launch. Employee data is handled in line with Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act and Macau’s Personal Data Protection Act (Law 8/2005), which treats health and genetic data as sensitive data.
Clinics and doctors in Macau
Zora’s clinic and doctor directory does not list providers in Macau yet. It lists 421 clinics and 1,185 doctors across 25 countries, mostly in Asia Pacific and the Middle East (browse clinics or browse doctors). Employees in Macau can still use Zora’s education and the Zora app. Ask us how your team in Macau would use Zora before you launch. See Zora’s employer guides for every country.
Rules and eligibility in Macau
Who can use assisted reproduction
Law No. 14/2023 was published in August 2023 and took effect in February 2024. It allows treatment for infertility, serious illness in a couple’s child or a risk of serious genetic disease (Article 6). Beneficiaries must be a married couple or de facto partners, not divorcing or separating, aged 18 or over, and clinically suitable; de facto partners must be Macau residents (Article 7). Single women and same-sex couples are not eligible, according to a University of Macau analysis. Donors stay anonymous, and selling gametes or embryos carries 1 to 5 years in prison. Surrogacy is prohibited, the woman who gives birth is the legal mother, and making or carrying out a surrogacy agreement in Macau carries up to 2 years in prison or a fine (Articles 10 and 52).
Freezing is allowed; use requires a couple
Article 8 lets a person with a well-founded fear of future infertility collect and store their eggs or sperm under Health Bureau technical rules, and sets no marital condition for storage. In July 2023, committee chair Chan Chak Mo said the government’s revised bill would let unmarried people freeze gametes because of illness or marrying later (Macau Daily Times). Use for treatment still requires the couple conditions. Unused embryos must be used within 10 years, with one possible 5-year extension (Article 35).
Maternity leave is 90 days
Law No. 9/2026, published on 27 July 2026, raised private-sector maternity leave from 70 to 90 days for births from 28 July 2026 (Lockton, HK01). The first 60 days must be taken right after birth. Employers pay basic pay to employees with more than 1 year of service, and employers with 100 or fewer staff can claim a government subsidy for eligible resident employees. Paternity leave stays at 5 working days, paid after 1 year of service and usable once the pregnancy passes 3 months and until 30 days after birth (Law No. 8/2020).
Pregnancy protection and health data
Under Article 56 of the Labour Relations Law (Law No. 7/2008), once an employer is told of a pregnancy, it cannot end the employee’s contract during pregnancy or in the 3 months after birth without just cause. A breach means extra compensation on top of other amounts owed. The Personal Data Protection Act (Law 8/2005) classes data on health and sex life, including genetic data, as sensitive, and some processing needs prior authorisation from the data protection regulator. Transfers outside Macau, including to mainland China or Hong Kong, need an adequate level of protection or the person’s clear consent.
Public treatment starts
Macao Union Hospital opened fertility clinics in February 2025, assessed more than 300 referred couples, began IUI in July (about 57 procedures) and IVF and ICSI later in 2025, according to the Macao SAR Government.
Why employers choose Zora
Companies including Hilton, LinkedIn, Sanofi, HSBC, Mastercard, Carousell and Singapore Management University work with Zora Health. We work alongside your existing insurance, helping employees use the cover they already have and find suitable specialists based on their needs.
Trying to conceive with a heavy workload took a toll on my husband and me. It helped us understand our options.
Questions HR teams ask us
Is fertility leave mandatory in Macau?
No. There is no statutory fertility treatment leave. Employees usually use annual leave, sick leave or unpaid time for appointments. Private-sector maternity leave is 90 days for births from 28 July 2026, and paternity leave is 5 working days.
Does the Macau government pay for IVF?
Partly. Since December 2024, the Health Bureau’s subsidy scheme has waived fees for up to 2 cycles of IVF or ICSI at Macao Union Hospital for married or resident de facto couples who pass a clinical assessment. It does not cover genetic testing, treatment of underlying conditions or further cycles, and a lawmaker said in December 2025 that couples were waiting several months.
Can single employees freeze their eggs in Macau?
Law No. 14/2023 allows a person with a well-founded fear of future infertility to freeze eggs, and the government proposed in 2023 that this would include unmarried people. The eggs can only be used for treatment later as part of a married couple or resident de facto partnership. Egg freezing at Kiang Wu Hospital cost about MOP 40,000 on average in 2024.
Does Zora replace our health insurance?
No. Zora works alongside your insurance. We help employees understand their options, find suitable specialists and use the cover they already have.
How much does a fertility benefit cost an employer?
It depends on the allowance, eligibility and expected uptake. Use the budget planner on this page for a first estimate, then ask us for a tailored proposal based on your headcount and countries.
How quickly can we launch?
Typically 4 to 6 weeks from contract to launch, depending on scope and countries. Most companies start with a single talk.
Related guides for Macau employers
Build a fertility benefit for your team
Whether you are introducing fertility benefits for the first time or improving an existing programme, tell us your headcount, countries and priorities. We will come back within two working days with suitable services, an indicative budget and a practical rollout plan for your Macau team. No obligation.
Not ready to talk yet? Explore how Zora works
Sources
- Macao SAR Government Official Gazette, Law No. 14/2023 on medically assisted reproduction techniques (Portuguese text), August 2023
- 黃玉葉, University of Macau, Main content and legislative implications of Macau’s medically assisted reproduction law, 2024
- Macau Daily Times, Unmarried might store cells for future reproduction, government proposes, July 2023
- Macao News, Assisted reproduction subsidy launches for married couples, November 2024
- Macau Post Daily, Health Bureau briefing on assisted reproductive technology subsidy scheme, November 2024
- Macau Daily Times, Over 230 couples seek fertility assistance, July 2025
- Macao SAR Government, Macao Union Medical Center launches multiple assisted reproductive services in collaboration with PUMCH, December 2025
- Macau Daily Times, Lawmaker says medically assisted reproduction services are struggling to meet demand, December 2025
- Macau Daily Times, Government to provide assisted reproduction services for 130 eligible cases in first half, January 2026
- Macau Post Daily, Kiang Wu’s assisted reproductive services benefit 300 couples, October 2024
- Macau Daily Times, Women’s association calls for more support for infertile couples, November 2024
- Macau Post Daily, Egg freezing now available at Kiang Wu, April 2024
- Macau Business, Can the Year of the (Fire) Horse reverse Macau’s ultra-low birth rate?, 2026
- Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), Demographic statistics for the whole year and the fourth quarter of 2025, March 2026
- Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), Demographic statistics for the whole year and the fourth quarter of 2024, March 2025
- DSEC, Macao Yearbook of Statistics 2025, labour force tables
- Lockton, Macau increases maternity leave and annual leave, 2026
- HK01, Macau maternity leave rises from 70 to 90 days from 28 July, July 2026
- Macau Business, Lawmakers approve maternity leave extension to counter plunging birth rate, July 2026
- RTP, Macau extends maternity leave and holidays in face of the world’s lowest birth rate, January 2026
- Macao SAR Official Gazette, Law No. 7/2008, Labour Relations Law (original text), August 2008
- Macao SAR Official Gazette, Law No. 8/2020 amending the Labour Relations Law (Law No. 7/2008), 2020
- Macau Daily Times, Macau to disburse 2026 childcare subsidy next week, May 2026
- Macau Daily Times, Multiple entities announce maternity leave extension, March 2026
- Macau Post Daily, SJM Resorts extends paid maternity and paternity leave, March 2026
- DLA Piper, Data protection laws of the world: Macau SAR
- WTW, Double-digit medical cost increases projected to persist into 2026 in Asia Pacific, November 2025
- Hong Kong SAR Government, LCQ16: Assisted reproductive technology (CHRT data), December 2024
- Macau Daily Times, Assisted reproductive services program handles 370 eligible cases, April 2026
- Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Fertility Matters at Work and This Can Happen, workplace fertility survey, November 2025
- Carrot Fertility, Global Fertility at Work report, 2023
- Gallup, This fixable problem costs US businesses $1 trillion, 2019
- World Health Organization, 1 in 6 people globally affected by infertility, April 2023
Information on this page is correct as of 5 November 2026. Laws, public funding, insurance rules and treatment costs change often, so check current rules with the relevant authority, insurer or a qualified adviser before making decisions. This page is general information, not legal, financial, tax or medical advice.