Press Releases

Government extends public consultation period on Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme

The Government today (March 14) announced that the public consultation exercise on Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) will be extended for one month to April 16 to allow the public to have more time to express their views on the Government's relevant proposal.

A spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau said, "Since the launch of the public consultation exercise on December 15, 2014, the Government has organised or attended nearly 70 consultation sessions and public forums to gauge views from the relevant sectors and the public. As of yesterday (March 13), the Government had received more than 270 submissions.

"According to the views we have received so far, the public in general support the VHIS but have concerns over certain areas, such as premium increase after the implementation of the scheme, the service capacity and manpower of private hospitals to cope with a possible increase in demand for service in the future. There are also views expressing reservations over the benefit coverage under the scheme.

"As the VHIS is a supplementary financing option to facilitate the healthy development of the healthcare system, as well as an important measure to adjust the balance of the public and private healthcare sectors, we hope the public can actively give their opinions during the extended consultation period to help us formulate a health insurance scheme that meets public needs."

The VHIS proposes to regulate individual indemnity hospital insurance products. Following the implementation of the scheme, all individual indemnity hospital insurance products must comply with the Minimum Requirements prescribed by the Government to ensure that products purchased by consumers offer value for money. Insurers must offer to consumers a Standard Plan that meets all 12 Minimum Requirements as an available option, so as to enhance the accessibility and continuity of hospital insurance, as well as the quality and transparency of hospital insurance.

Ends/Saturday, March 14, 2015
Issued at HKT 13:43

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