Hong Kong’s plan to reduce public healthcare subsidies from 97 per cent to 90 per cent by 2030 represents a significant shift in one of the world’s most heavily subsidised systems. While the Health Bureau portrays this as a necessary realignment, the reform warrants careful consideration as there are far-reaching implications for healthcare equity and…
The government’s recent decision to significantly increase public hospital fees has reignited concerns about the long-term sustainability of the system. Hong Kong’s reliance on a tax-funded model is becoming fiscally unsustainable. Rather than merely raising charges for medical services, a comprehensive and forward-thinking approach to healthcare financing reform is urgently needed. Decades of reliance on…
Big changes are coming to the fees people pay in Hong Kong’s public healthcare system under reforms that aim to support the neediest patients. Under the revamp, set to take effect on January 1 next year, the government is seeking to bring down the rate it subsidises public healthcare by, from 97.6 per cent, among…
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)…
About 60 domestic helpers in Hong Kong diagnosed with cancer or other critical illnesses have been illegally fired by their employers due to their condition since 2020, support groups have said. The organisations on Sunday also urged the government to extend public healthcare coverage to domestic helpers who were pursuing discrimination cases after having their…
About 60 domestic helpers in Hong Kong diagnosed with cancer or other critical illnesses have been illegally fired by their employers due to their condition since 2020, support groups have said. The organisations on Sunday also urged the government to extend public healthcare coverage to domestic helpers who were pursuing discrimination cases after having their…
The first of two 10-year development plans to upgrade Hong Kong’s healthcare infrastructure will be unaffected by the government’s budget deficit, the outgoing head of the local public hospital system has said. Hospital Authority chief executive Tony Ko Pat-sing also said on Sunday that a penalty system to clamp down on medical blunders would not…