Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ9: Pilot scheme for the use of elderly health care vouchers at the University of Hong Kong - Shenzhen Hospital

Following is a question by the Hon Wong Kwok-kin and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (May 4):

Question:

The Government launched the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme (EHCV Scheme) in 2009 and the Pilot Scheme at the University of Hong Kong - Shenzhen Hospital under the EHCV Scheme (Pilot Scheme) on October 6, 2015. Under the Pilot Scheme, eligible Hong Kong elderly people may use elderly health care vouchers (HCVs) to pay for designated outpatient services at the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZ Hospital). Moreover, the authorities have indicated that they will continue to enhance the EHCV Scheme. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of attendances of Hong Kong elderly people using HCVs at HKU-SZ Hospital since the implementation of the Pilot Scheme; whether it knows the Mainland cities in which these elderly people reside;

(2) of the total value of HCVs used by Hong Kong elderly people at HKU-SZ Hospital since the implementation of the Pilot Scheme, with a breakdown by the healthcare services involved;

(3) whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of the Pilot Scheme since the implementation of the Pilot Scheme; if it has; of the outcome; if not; the reasons for that, and when it will conduct the review;

(4) of the factors based on which it determined the Mainland cities in which the Pilot Scheme was to be implemented; whether it will (i) include more medical institutions in Shenzhen in the Pilot Scheme and (ii) implement the Pilot Scheme in other Mainland cities; if it will, of the details; if not; the reasons for that; and

(5) whether it has studied other measures to enhance the EHCV Scheme since the implementation of the Pilot Scheme, so as to benefit more Hong Kong elderly people; if it has, of the details of such measures and the progress of the study?

Reply:

President,

My reply to the question raised by the Hon Wong Kwok-kin relating to enhancement of Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme (EHV Scheme) is given below:

The pilot scheme for the use of elderly health care vouchers at the University of Hong Kong - Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZ Hospital) was launched on October 6, 2015. This is the first time the Government allows health care vouchers to be used outside Hong Kong. The scheme aims to provide one more service point for Hong Kong elders and facilitate those who reside in the Mainland or places near Shenzhen (e.g. North District in the New Territories) to seek necessary medical treatment.

(1) and (2) As at end of March 2016, 691 elders had used health care vouchers at the HKU-SZ Hospital, and the total amount of the vouchers claimed was $919,709 (to pay for the healthcare service fees of around RMB762,891). The vouchers were used in the designated Outpatient Medical Centers and Medical Service Departments set out in Annex.

The Department of Health (DH) does not maintain statistics on the use of health care vouchers by elders residing in different cities. Nevertheless, according to the information provided by the HKU-SZ Hospital, as at end-March 2016, among the elders who had made use of vouchers in the HKU-SZ Hospital and provided their residential information, 408 were residing in the Mainland and 173 were residing in Hong Kong.

(3) and (4) The quality of healthcare services and clinical governance structure of the HKU-SZ Hospital are similar to that of Hong Kong, of which HK elders would more likely consider it acceptable. As such, we at the present stage are working with the HKU-SZ Hospital as the starting point for studying the extension of the use of health care vouchers by Hong Kong elders in the Mainland.

As this is the first time we provide service point for using the health care vouchers outside Hong Kong, we are closely monitoring the implementation of the pilot scheme, including the arrangements for voucher claims and reimbursement, checking and auditing. A review would be conducted after the scheme has been implemented for some time. Taking into account the experience gained and the principle of prudent use of public money, we will explore the feasibility of extending the EHV Scheme in the Mainland. The factors we will consider include the quality of healthcare services, clinical governance structure, administrative procedures, financial arrangement, operation environment and skills of staff of the healthcare institutions and units.

(5) Since the implementation of the EHV Scheme, we have introduced various enhancement measures to give elders greater flexibility in using private primary care services. For example, the annual voucher amount for an eligible elder has increased progressively from the initial sum of $250 to $2,000, and the financial cap has been revised upward from $3,000 to $4,000. Moreover, the face value of each voucher was changed from $50 to $1 in 2014 to make it more convenient for the elders to use the vouchers.

As at end-March 2016, about 5 300 healthcare service providers are enrolled under the scheme and over 610 000 elders have made use of the vouchers (accounting for about 80% of the eligible elderly population). To attract more elders to join the scheme and use the vouchers, the DH will continue to promote the scheme via different channels, including announcements of public interest on television and radio, and advertisement in public transport system. We will also explore various methods to encourage more service providers to participate in the scheme.

Besides, the DH is reviewing the EHV Scheme in collaboration with the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. We will closely monitor the pattern of using the vouchers, and consider implementing other enhancement measures as appropriate having regard to the results of the review and the Government's overall fiscal condition.

Ends/Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Issued at HKT 12:47

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