Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
Following is a question by the Hon Stanley Ng and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Health, Dr Cecilia Fan, in the Legislative Council today (October 15):
Question:
The Government launched the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme (the Pilot Scheme) in June last year to extend the coverage of the Elderly Health Care Vouchers (EHCVs) to suitable medical institutions in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The Pilot Scheme has now been extended to nine Mainland cities in GBA, with the number of service points increased to a total of 21 after the addition of five pilot medical institutions in August this year, further enhancing the coverage of cross-boundary healthcare services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the Secretary for Health has previously indicated that the Government is considering progressively extending the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme to Fujian Province, of the relevant idea, specific arrangements and timetable;
(2) of the number, and the number of person-times, of Hong Kong elderly persons who have used EHCVs in GBA under the Pilot Scheme to date, with a breakdown by city and medical institution; whether the Government has analysed the relevant utilisation rates and trends; and
(3) whether, during the implementation of the Pilot Scheme, the SAR Government has established a coordination mechanism with the relevant Mainland authorities in respect of the sharing of medical records, payment procedures, medical dispute resolution mechanisms, the collection of feedback from the elderly, etc, and formulated specific agreements or cooperation arrangements?
Reply:
President,
The Government launched the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme (EHVS) in 2009 which aims at providing financial incentives, through offering partial subsidies, for elderly persons to choose private primary healthcare (PHC) services that best suit their health needs. Each eligible elderly person is currently provided with an annual Elderly Health Care Voucher (EHCV) amount of $2,000, with the accumulation limit of $8,000. The expenditure for the EHVS increased from $682 million in 2014-15 to $3.424 billion in 2024-25. The estimated expenditure for the EHVS in 2025-26 is $4.15 billion. As at end-September 2025, over 1.79 million eligible elderly persons have used EHCVs.
In consultation with the Department of Health (DH), my reply to the question raised by the Hon Stanley Ng is as follows:
(1) The Government has been actively promoting healthcare collaboration in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) in recent years. In order to provide eligible Hong Kong elderly persons with more choices of service points in the GBA, and to offer them more convenience and flexibility to better use their EHCVs on PHC services, the Government launched the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme (Pilot Scheme) in 2024. Since June of the same year, the coverage of EHCVs has been extended by phases to seven integrated medical/dental institutions in the GBA, covering Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Dongguan and Shenzhen; among them are two designated dental institutions in Shenzhen for addressing the demand of elderly persons for dental services. In view of the positive responses from the Hong Kong community on the Pilot Scheme, the Government announced the extension of the Pilot Scheme in May this year to include 12 additional medical institutions to cover nine Mainland cities in the GBA, and the goal was fully achieved in August. Together with the two existing service points operated by the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZH), eligible elderly persons can use EHCVs at a total of 21 service points in the Mainland cities in the GBA.
The extension of the Pilot Scheme to full coverage of nine Mainland cities in the GBA marks another milestone in policy innovation and medical collaboration between the two places. The Pilot Scheme is still in its initial operation period, we will continue to assess and monitor the operation and usage of EHCVs in the pilot medical institutions and review the effectiveness of the Pilot Scheme in due course before studying further arrangements.
(2) To ensure that EHCVs can effectively continue the policy objective of supporting the implementation of PHC services, the scope and principles of the use of EHCVs under the Pilot Scheme are generally identical to those in Hong Kong and under the HKU-SZH scheme. As at end-September 2025, over 23 300 eligible elderly persons have used EHCVs to pay for the fees of outpatient healthcare services received at medical institutions under the Pilot Scheme, involving 48 538 voucher claim transactions and a total claimed amount at approximately HK$55.99 million. The usage of EHCVs by eligible elderly persons at various pilot medical institutions are set out at Annex. Since the launch of the Pilot Scheme, the utilisation rate has been rising steadily. The service types for using the EHCVs are mainly “follow up/monitoring of long-term conditions” (52 per cent) and “preventive” (23 per cent). The Pilot Scheme is still in its initial operation period and some of the pilot medical institutions have operated for only a few months, requiring more time for further observation. We will continue to assess and monitor the operation and usage of EHCVs in the pilot medical institutions before further analysing relevant data.
(3) To ensure the proper use of public money, the DH adopts a robust monitoring mechanism for checking and auditing voucher claims under the EHVS. The existing monitoring mechanism, which includes measures such as routine checking, monitoring and investigating in respect of aberrant transactions, as well as auditing voucher claims, is also applicable to the HKU-SZH and medical institutions participating in the Pilot Scheme. The DH has also established a mechanism with the health authority of Guangdong Province, through which the health authority of Guangdong Province will provide assistance to the DH when necessary, with a view to enhancing its monitoring capabilities. The Government will continue to maintain close contact with the health authority of Guangdong Province to ensure the smooth implementation of the monitoring mechanism in the pilot medical institutions. The DH provides channels such as telephone hotline and email under the EHVS to Hong Kong elderly persons for making enquiries or complaints on the use of EHCVs and medical institutions under the Pilot Scheme. Based on the nature of complaints, the DH will strictly deal with all suspected cases of violating the EHVS rules and take appropriate follow-up measures.
In addition, the DH has signed service agreements with all pilot medical institutions, which cover and state clearly the relevant practices on the appropriate use of EHCVs, as well as the arrangements on financial matters and system configurations, etc. The Government has collaborated with all pilot medical institutions to finalise the relevant arrangements under the service agreement. All 19 pilot medical institutions have been operating smoothly since the launch of the Pilot Scheme in June 2024.
Currently, Mainland medical institutions, including the quality of clinical services and the fees charged, are subject to strict supervision by relevant local authorities. Each medical institution under the Pilot Scheme has set up its own enquiry or complaint hotline. Hong Kong elderly persons can make use of different channels (including telephone hotline or email) to directly file any complaints, including medical incidents, regarding the pilot medical institutions, or lodge complaints against the medical institutions under the Pilot Scheme to the health authority at the provincial or municipal level if necessary. The relevant medical institution and the local regulatory authorities will follow up on the matter. The DH has also consolidated relevant information on the channels for reporting or lodging complaints, and uploaded the details to the EHVS website for public reference.
Regarding medical records, the Government has been maintaining close liaison with the relevant Mainland authorities to take forward the sharing of cross-boundary medical records , in accordance with the overarching principles of ensuring due compliance of laws and regulations of Hong Kong and the Mainland and that data security and patients’ privacy are fully safeguarded. In particular, the Government launched two eHealth App functions, namely “Cross-boundary Health Record” and “Personal Folder”, at the HKU-SZH and the 19 medical institutions under the Pilot Scheme, which will facilitate elderly persons to securely use their electronic health records across the boundary under the principle of “bring your own health records”, thereby enhancing the continuity of care. Taking into account the implementation experience, the Government will further streamline the workflow and enhance the user experience, with the aim to support citizens’ cross-boundary healthcare needs more effectively.