Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ7: Implementation of fees and charges reform for public healthcare
| Triage category The latest statistics of A&Es indicate that the fees and charges reform for public healthcare can effectively help the “acute” patients among the “poor, acute, serious, critical” patients who are most in need. Resources of A&Es are now better directed towards critical and emergency patients. Directing some non-urgent patients or patients with other medical needs to seek more appropriate healthcare services other than A&Es can also help reduce the overall waiting time and alleviate overcrowding at A&Es, thereby achieving the original intent of the fees and charges reform for public healthcare to concentrate resources and treat patients with urgent medical needs more effectively, as well as improving the clinical environment at A&Es.
(2), (4) and (5) As an essential component of the fees and charges reform for public healthcare, the HA has concurrently expanded its medical fee waiver mechanism. In addition to the some 600 000 people who have been benefiting from medical fee waivers both before and after the reform (including Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients, Old Age Living Allowance recipients aged 75 or above and Level 0 Voucher Holders of the Residential Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly), the number of other eligible low-income individuals is estimated to significantly increase from approximately 300 000 to about 1.4 million, i.e. an additional 1.1 million low-income individuals can potentially benefit. This enables limited healthcare resources to be more precisely directed to help the “poor” patients among the “poor, acute, serious, critical” patients who are most in need, while ensuring that no patient is denied medical care due to lack of means.Issued at HKT 17:13 NNNN |