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Cannix Yau

About 280,000 patients have secured full fee waivers since Hong Kong’s public healthcare charges were overhauled at the start of the year, a 20-fold increase from the previous figure of 14,000, the health minister has said.
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau revealed the figures on Saturday as he defended the reform, which raised user fees for non-urgent and less serious services to reduce the government subsidy rate. He said the changes were intended to optimise the use of existing resources and strengthen protection for vulnerable groups.
“Since its implementation, just in eight months the number of people benefiting from full medical fee waivers has increased from 14,000 to 280,000 – a growth of over 20-fold,” Lo said.
The new public healthcare fee regime was introduced on January 1 to ensure the sustainable development of the healthcare system amid challenges posed by an ageing population.
Under the new structure, a visit to an accident and emergency department at a public hospital costs HK$400 (US$51) for less urgent cases, up from between HK$50 and HK$150 per visit.

The number of people eligible for subsidised or free healthcare will also expand significantly, from 300,000 to 1.4 million, following the relaxation of income and asset limits.
Lo said the government previously subsidised up to 97.6 per cent of public healthcare costs, representing a significant benefit.
“Following the healthcare reform, our goal is to shift towards a user-pays model under which those who can afford [it] should pay. Currently, government subsidies still stand at 95 per cent. We aim to gradually reduce them to 90 per cent within five years,” he said.
“Please be assured that those facing financial hardship will remain fully exempt from fees.”
Lo added that the Hospital Authority was also reviewing whether innovative drugs and medical devices could be introduced more quickly, with the aim of speeding up public access through the mechanism without placing a heavy financial burden on patients.
He said the approval process for subsidised drugs had been accelerated since the fee reform, with 17 medications – including specialist drugs – added to the drug registry so far this year.
“For example, there was a targeted therapy drug used to treat blood cancer. Before the fee reform and the speeding up of the relevant approval mechanisms, patients had to pay out of pocket between HK$20,000 and HK$40,000,” he said. “Now, patients pay only HK$20 every four weeks if the drug is prescribed.”
The government earlier said that the number of non-urgent patients seeking treatment at public hospital accident and emergency departments had dropped by about 20 per cent in the first six months of this year following the new pricing regime.
It argued that the reformed system had allowed the authority to deploy more resources to strengthen care for emergency and critical patients.


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Hong Kong

Health & Environment

Health chief defends higher charges for less urgent services in Hong Kong as full fee waivers increase from 14,000 since new regime began on January 1


Health chief defends higher charges for less urgent services in Hong Kong as full fee waivers increase from 14,000 since new regime began on January 1.


China

Lo Chung-mau

Hospital Authority

Full fee waivers rise 20-fold to 280,000 after healthcare reform, minister says

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Health chief defends higher charges for less urgent services in Hong Kong as full fee waivers increase from 14,000 since new regime began on January 1

Health chief defends higher charges for less urgent services in Hong Kong as full fee waivers increase from 14,000 since new regime began on January 1