Some patients and advocacy groups have voiced concerns over medical fee increases under a reform of Hong Kong’s subsidised public healthcare model, while experts have called for alternative services to be strengthened to support affected residents.
Ng Ka-lun, who suffers from severe amblyopia, commonly known as “lazy eye”, will have to pay about HK$2,000 (US$257) more a year for his family’s use of specialist outpatient services and emergency care at public hospitals once the policy took effect.
The 44-year-old said he and his wife, who is also visually impaired, each typically visited an ophthalmologist four to five times a year.
The planned fee increase would mean they would have to pay HK$250 per session, more than three times the current cost, he added.
The family also generally visited accident and emergency (A&E) wards three to five times a year due to injuries related to their eyesight or when the couple’s 11-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter got sick, he said.
The subsidy reform means patients with less urgent conditions will need to pay a standard fee of HK$400 when visiting A&E departments, more than double the current price of HK$180.
