Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ17: Processing of applications for SARS Trust Fund
Following is a question by the Hon Ambrose Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, in the Legislative Council today (February 25):
Question:
It is reported that the processing of applications by the Committee on Trust Fund for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is slow. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of applications which have been approved by the above Committee so far, and the percentage of these applications in the total number of applications for the Trust Fund;
(b) of the highest and lowest amounts of assistance among the above approved applications; and
(c) whether it has assessed the speed in processing applications by the Committee; if the assessment result shows that the process is slow, of the reasons for that and whether the authorities will streamline the application and processing procedure so as to expedite the process?
Reply:
(a) Up to February 24, 2004, a total of 754 applications, which include 302 cases from families with deceased SARS patients and 452 cases from recovered and "suspected" SARS patients treated with steroids, have been made to the Trustee of the Trust Fund for SARS. A total of 357 applications, amongst which 217 were made in respect of the deceased and 140 the recovered, have been approved. The cases processed represent about 52 per cent (78 per cent in respect of the deceased and 34 per cent the recovered) of the total number of applications received (including the 33 applications processed, which have not been approved).
(b) The levels of payments for applicants of different categories have been set out in the Finance Committee Agenda Item (FCai) for establishing the Trust Fund. Special ex-gratia relief payments for successful applications in respect of the deceased would range from $100,000 to $500,000 for each eligible family member or family, where appropriate. As regards eligible recovered SARS patients or 'suspected' SARS patients treated with steroids, special ex-gratia financial assistance per patient is determined on a need basis and subject to a cap of $500,000.
A deceased patient may have more than one eligible surviving family member. So far, the highest total amount of payment made to a whole family in respect of the deceased is $1.7 million, while the lowest amount is $100,000. As for recovered patients, the highest amount of monthly financial assistance approved so far is over $30,000 per month and the lowest amount is around $200 per month. The needs and amounts of assistance are subject to review every six months or when circumstances change (e.g. reported change in employment income). In addition to the monthly financial assistance, the applicants may also be granted amounts to cover medical expenditure, where appropriate.
(c) The Committee on Trust Fund for SARS has met eight times since its establishment on November 8, 2003 to consider the applications received. To expedite the process, straight-forward applications are dealt with by circulation. The time taken to process the cases varies, depending on the complexity of the applications, and whether information provided by the applicants is adequate, etc. From experience, the shortest time required was 2 weeks from application to approval. On average, it takes about 8 to 10 weeks, again depending on the circumstances of individual cases concerned.
It should be noted that the medical and financial needs of recovered SARS patients and 'suspected' SARS patients treated with steroids need to be assessed according to the eligibility criteria set out in the relevant FCai. Hence, processing of these applications may take longer than that for deceased cases. To expedite processing of applications from this group, the Committee has already streamlined the process to keep the procedures to the minimum, e.g. setting out simple guidelines to enable the Social Welfare Department to process the applications efficiently.
Moreover, payments for successful cases for recovered SARS patients and 'suspected' SARS patients treated with steroids would generally begin to count from the date of application, rather than date of approval. This arrangement would minimise the impact of the processing time on the amounts of assistance provided to the successful applicants.
We will continue to work closely with the Committee on Trust Fund for SARS to ensure that applications are processed as quickly as possible.
Ends/Wednesday, February 25, 2004
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