Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ21: Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme
Following is a question
by the Hon Christopher Chung and a written reply by the Secretary for
Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today
(December 18):
Question:
The Government has implemented the Elderly Health Care Voucher
Scheme (EHCVS) since January 2009. Under EHCVS, all elderly people aged
70 or above are each provided annually with 20 healthcare vouchers of
$50. Regarding the implementation of EHCVS, will the Government inform
this Council :
(a) of the current number of elderly people in the territory eligible
for using the healthcare vouchers;
(b) whether it will consider afresh lowering the minimum age
requirement for EHCVS to 65; if it will, of the estimated additional
expenditure to be incurred and the implementation timetable; if not, the
reasons for that;
(c) of the current number of elderly people who have never used the
healthcare vouchers and its percentage in the total number of eligible
elderly people; whether the authorities have examined the reasons why
these elderly people have never used the healthcare vouchers; if not,
whether they will do so;
(d) of the major channels and modes by which EHCVS is publicised among
elderly people at present; given that some elderly people have pointed
out that as the current television announcement in the public interest
(API) for EHCVS mainly convey to them the message that they can register
for using the healthcare vouchers at any clinic with the EHCVS logo,
quite a number of elderly people have mistakenly thought that the
healthcare vouchers may only be used to pay for consultation and
treatment fees of western medicine practitioners, whether the
authorities will launch APIs which clearly inform the elderly people
that the healthcare vouchers can also be used to pay for the healthcare
services provided by other healthcare service providers such as Chinese
medicine practitioners, chiropractors, dentists, physiotherapists,
registered or enrolled nurses, medical laboratory technologists and
optometrists, etc.;
(e) given that at present, members of the public can obtain the List of
Enrolled Healthcare Service Providers by (i) visiting the eHealth System
of the Health Care Voucher website, or (ii) calling the recorded message
telephone system of the Health Care Voucher Unit of the Department of
Health, but these two channels are too complicated for average elderly
people, whether the authorities will conduct studies on ways which are
more convenient for the elderly people to make enquiries, e.g. providing
a telephone hotline answered by real persons and providing the elderly
people, verbally or by mail, with information on suitable healthcare
service providers based on their districts of residence, types of their
illnesses, medical needs, etc.;
(f) as quite a number of elderly people have limited mobility or cannot
leave home to consult doctors because of their illnesses, and some
elderly people suffering from chronic illnesses require regular home
visits by healthcare workers to provide them with services, whether the
healthcare vouchers may be used to pay for outreach home medical and
nursing services at present; if so, whether the authorities have
publicised this; if not, whether they will make such arrangements
expeditiously; and
(g) of the number of cases in which healthcare service providers have
been found to have involved in frauds taking advantage of EHCVS since
EHCVS was launched, the amount involved, and the channels through which
the authorities have uncovered such cases; whether the authorities have
taken the initiative to conduct random checks on suspicious cases?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the Hon Christopher Chung's question is as follows:
(a) According to the Hong Kong Population Projections 2012-2041
published by the Census and Statistics Department, the number of elders
aged 70 or above is about 723 500 in 2013.
(b) The Government launched the Elderly Health Care Voucher (EHV) Pilot
Scheme in January 2009 to subsidise local residents aged 70 or above to
use private primary care services, including preventive care. Since
January 1, 2013, the annual voucher amount for each eligible elder has
doubled from $500 to $1,000. The Scheme will be converted from a pilot
project into a recurrent support programme for the elderly in
2014. After the Scheme is regularised for a period of time, the
Administration will conduct further review of its effectiveness.
The financial implications of lowering the eligible age for EHV
from 70 to 65 are set out at Annex.
(c) Since introducing the Scheme in 2009, about 550 000 eligible elders
have used the vouchers, representing about 76% of the existing eligible
elderly population. The Administration carried out an interim review on
the EHV Pilot Scheme in 2010, and conducted an opinion survey on those
who had not used the vouchers. The major reasons for not doing so
included: (i) the healthcare professionals they usually consulted were
not under the Scheme; (ii) they were used to using the public healthcare
sector; and (iii) they were healthy and did not need any care treatment.
(d) The Government has been promoting the Scheme to the public through
various publicity activities and media, including broadcasting the
announcements in public interest (APIs) on television and radio,
distributing DVDs/posters/leaflets in public hospitals and clinics,
elderly centres and care homes for the elderly, displaying posters in
shopping arcades of public housing estates, and broadcasting APIs and
messages in railway facilities.
The publicity leaflets, DVDs and EHV website provide detailed
information on the healthcare services and categories of healthcare
professionals covered by the Scheme. Shots of medical practitioners,
Chinese medicine practitioners, dentists and optometrists featured in
the latest series of APIs. In future, we will consider using different
materials and format to promote the use of EHV, including the healthcare
services covered by the Scheme (e.g. services provided by dentists and
physiotherapists).
(e) At present, elders can access the List of Enrolled Healthcare
Service Providers under the Scheme from the eHealth System website or
get a facsimile copy from the enquiry hotline for the EHV Scheme. They
may also contact staff of the Health Care Voucher Unit of the Department
of Health (DH) via the EHV enquiry hotline for the relevant
information. We will consider further enhancing our support in this
regard.
Publicity materials and publications on EHV are available at
general out-patient clinics, public hospitals, Senior Citizen Card
Office, Elderly Health Centres, 18 District Offices, District Elderly
Community Centres, Neighbourhood Elderly Community Centres, residential
care homes for the elderly and individual healthcare service
providers.
(f) EHV can be used to pay for services provided by private healthcare
service providers enrolled in the Scheme. There is no restriction on
the mode of service delivery, such as on-site or outreach healthcare
services. Where necessary, we will enhance publicity to disseminate
this message through different channels.
(g) To ensure proper reimbursement claims by enrolled healthcare
service providers and prudent use of public money, the DH has put in
place measures and procedures for checking and auditing voucher
claims. These include: (i) routine checking of voucher claims records
through inspection to the clinics of service providers; (ii) routine
surveillance through the eHealth System to detect irregularities in use
of vouchers so as to take timely follow-up and investigation actions;
and (iii) investigation into complaints received.
The DH conducted about 7 100 inspections and checked about 130 500
claim transactions for reimbursement over the past four years or so. A
total of 91 cases involving about 1 900 claim transactions and $564,700
of voucher value were found not in compliance with the established
reimbursement procedures and requirements. These cases were due mainly
to errors in procedures or documentation. Only a few was referred to
relevant law enforcement agencies for follow-up.
Ends/Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Issued at HKT 19:22
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