Healthcare System In Hongkong Health And Social Care Essay

2. Public health care services in Hong Kong are to a great extent subsidized by the Government. However, with the ageing population and increasing medical costs, the public outgo on health care is estimated to increase at a much faster gait than the economic system in the coming old ages. With the existent figure that the public wellness outgo may turn from 2.9 % of in 2004 to 5.5 % of GDP by 2033, it is clear that the bing funding theoretical account is non sustainable. Auxiliary funding for health care is needed to supplement authorities ‘s outgo on health care services and for the longaˆ?term sustainability of our health care system.
THEMEDICAL CHARGE IN HONG KONG
3. The medical services in Hong Kong are provided by the public and private sector. The medical charge in Hong Kong can be divided into two facets: Government or Public Services and Private Service.

Government or Public Services
4. Government or Public Services are provided by the Department of Health ( DH ) and the Hospital Authority ( HA ) . Medical charges of common out-patient and in-patient interventions are as follow: intervention at a authorities general out-patient clinic costs $ 45 for Hong Kong occupants ; specializer clinic for audience costs $ 100 for the first attending, $ 60 for followup and $ 10 per drug point ; free intervention for instances of TB, leprosy, genital disease, and pregnancy and kid wellness counsel ; the admittance fee of in-patients in public infirmaries is $ 50, while busying acute beds and non-acute beds are charged $ 100 and $ 68 per twenty-four hours severally. The above charges may be waived if patient can non afford them.
5. Apart from general out-patient and in-patient services, the DH and the HA besides provide Chinese medical specialty services and Student Healthcare Services to the populace. Chinese Medicine Centres will bear down patients $ 120 with two doses of Chinese herb for a intervention per visit. Healthcare services for pupils are free of charge. Immunizations against 10 childhood infective diseases are free as good. Family be aftering service is besides available in maternal and child wellness Centres at a charge of $ 1 for every visit.
Private Servicess
6. Apart from authorities or public services, private medical services besides lead an of import function in Hong Kong ‘s health care system of. However, fees charged by private practicians vary and separate charges are frequently made. Patients are normally required to pay excess fees on services like research lab trials and X-ray scrutinies. With mention to the Report of Doctors ‘ Fees Survey 2010[ 1 ], the medians of some common out-patient and in-patient charges are as follow: audience fees for general patterns and specializer patterns are charged $ 200 and $ 575 severally ; day-to-day infirmary attending charge varies from $ 700 to $ 2,000, runing from remaining in ward to excellent individual suites ; surgical operations charges from $ 4,000 to $ 50,000, runing from degree 6 to level 1 surgeries. Other services such as vaccinums, composing medical studies and finishing insurance claim signifiers are charged individually and the fees varied.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION
7. We have conducted two intensive public audiences in order to roll up sentiments from every sector of our society about the health care system.
8. The first phase audience showed that the biggest concerns of the populace were ageing population and increasing medical costs. A comprehensive reform was needed to run into both challenges. The populace expected that the health care reform will make a long-run sustainable system. The bulk of people agreed that the reform should concentrate on both service bringing and funding agreements. Among the six possible auxiliary funding options, the populace expressed divergent positions over the voluntary private wellness insurance and compulsory private wellness insurance. Some doubted the effectivity of the mandatary health care insurance and voted for the voluntary strategy.
9. In the 2nd phase audience, the demand of reform to our health care system is confirmed. The populace called for auxiliary health care funding, and wider picks and better protection in health care services. Therefore, the Government has formulated proposals to reform our health care system and modulating voluntary wellness insurance. The public came to a consensus that the manner of health care insurance should be voluntary. Based on the community ‘s positions, the public support is the chief support beginning for health care. Individualised health care and wider pick with quality confidence to suit everyone ‘s demand were preferred.
10. There was a widely shared concern over the sustainability and the security of the health care insurance system. The Government warrants that the strategy provides uninterrupted protection for participants into their older ages. Besides, the strategy is standardised and regulated by the Government, so as to safeguard the insured involvements harmonizing to the jurisprudence.
PROPOSED VOLUNTARY HEALTH INSURANCE SYSTEM
11. Auxiliary funding is an indispensable constituent of the wellness attention financing reform. The signifier of auxiliary funding is an of import determination as it non merely influences the present community, but our future coevalss. Among the six possible auxiliary funding options, the Government decided to set forward the voluntary wellness insurance system as a portion of the wellness attention financing reform.
12. The proposed Health Protection Scheme ( HPS ) is a strategy that standardizes and regulates the voluntary private wellness insurance. Unlike other voluntary private wellness insurance in current market, insurances under the HPS is regulated to accept all endorsers and offer no exclusion of preexistent medical conditions with guaranteed reclamation for life. The pick of taking out insurance is voluntary either by persons or employers. The premium is based on the endorser ‘s pick and affordability. Subscribers will so hold a better entree to healthcare services under the HPS, and they would non detain primary attention until their unwellnesss worsen. Under the HPS, no one shall be left enduring from disease due to miss of fiscal agencies to pay for health care. Compared to the bing funding theoretical account, the voluntary wellness insurance system ensures effectual pooling and sharing of the health care hazards for persons.
13. Voluntary wellness insurance system aims at supplying the community with better picks for health care protection and heightening the longaˆ?term sustainability of our health care system. The insured are allowed to take both public and private health care services. Persons who can afford could utilize private health care on a sustained footing and even take top-up insurance programs to accommodate their ain demands. By promoting more people to take private health care services, the voluntary strategy can cut down the force per unit area on the public system. The public system could profit those who depend on the populace health care system by concentrating its resources on mark service countries and population groups, particularly low-income households, under-privileged groups and other needy.
14. The footings and definitions of the wellness insurance policy are standardized. Insurance companies take parting in the HPS are required to offer standard wellness insurance programs that follow the specified regulations and demands. However, the insurance companies are free to offer top-up benefits beyond the nucleus demands and specifications, so as to accommodate consumers ‘ demands. The HPS programs are required to supply coverage for hospital admittances or ambulatory processs, and its associate services like specialist outaˆ?patient audiences and probes, advanced diagnostic imagination. Chemotherapy or radiation therapy for malignant neoplastic disease is besides included in the nucleus demands of the program. However, primary attention, specializer services and diagnostic imagination in general, and pregnancy coverage are non included as the program ‘s nucleus demand. Insurance programs under the HPS are besides portable between insurance companies and on go forthing employment. The insured are able to maintain their wellness insurance policy for every bit long as they want, it will non be affected if they change occupations. Unlike the bing wellness insurance, insurance companies under the HPS could exchange their programs to another insurance company or go on their programs after retirement with no loss in coverage.
15. The Government has planned to utilize $ 50 billion financial modesty as fiscal inducements to back up the health care reform. Fiscal inducements are given to protect the bad persons, to offer premium price reduction for new endorsers and to lend to the salvaging constituent of the HPS programs.
Decision
16. The Government will widely publicise the voluntary wellness insurance and beg public support for our attempts to better the health care in Hong Kong. Any question on this brief may be addressed to Ms Li Wan-in, Assistant Secretary for Food and Health Bureau on 3150 8494.
Food and Health Bureau
22 October 2010