**********************************
Following is the speech delivered by Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, on "Letter to Hong Kong" on RTHK Radio 3 this morning (March 16):
Dear Katrina,
I am happy that you can find time to send emails updating us on what is happening. The e-photos that we received have vividly shown that you enjoy your study and training in Switzerland.
The Swiss spring weather is often unstable, with clouds and unpredictable rain. Take good care of yourself and don't catch a cold. Don't push yourself too hard and keep up with your weekly exercise and dance. Your most precious possession is your health. A health lifestyle is a must.
Talking about health, many people do not adequately organise financing for their own healthcare and retirement. There is a need to make choices that are not just for immediate short-term comfort. A person needs to make an investment in their own health and the Government needs to assist in making any investment plan viable.
Two years ago, I had a chance to visit Switzerland to study its national healthcare insurance system, and I am impressed to see that the Swiss Government has designed a non-profit making insurance plan for its people.
In Hong Kong, the first round of public consultations on healthcare reform has commenced . You may ask why we need reform.
We all cherish Hong Kong's low-fee healthcare services that have been functioning well to protect public health. As a result, life expectancy here ranks among best in the world.
Even if you are unfortunate enough to fall ill, you need not worry about having nowhere to seek medical care, as Hong Kong has high-quality medical services, with advanced medical technologies and an army of talented healthcare professionals with the highest standards.
But is it possible for us to sustain the standard of the existing service over the long-term? Ageing population and rising medical costs are challenges faced by almost all countries, and Hong Kong is no exception.
It must be clearly explained at the outset that this reform package means no cut in government expenditure, and quite to the contrary, the Government is committed to increasing the public health care budget, from 15% to 17% in five years.
Take a look at our total public health expenditure. It will be drastically increased from $38 billion in 2004 to $127 billion in 2025. But the increase will be at a much faster rate than workers' wages and the economy, supported by a much smaller tax-paying working population.
If the healthcare system is not reformed promptly, public healthcare services will not be able to maintain their present level of quality or service capacity for long.
Some people blame inefficiency in resource utilisation.
Let me assure you that our healthcare system is comparable to many other advanced economies in terms of efficiency.
Some people ask "What if we do nothing?"
Taxpayers pay for the existing public healthcare system. If a decision cannot be made on sustainable healthcare financing arrangements now, we would have to raise tax rates substantially, or cut funding for other public services such as education, social welfare and public order.
For those who fall sick, the waiting time for getting public hospital services will become longer and longer, while one would need to pay relatively expensive fees for seeking care in private hospitals.
Hong Kong's healthcare system needs a stable and sufficient funding source over the long-term. This will ensure that you and your future generations do not need to shoulder a heavy financial burden or face deteriorating standards.
Such funding would be used wisely in significant areas that contribute to the health of everyone. This includes better preventive care, improved protection from disability, from chronic and catastrophic illnesses.
To start the ball rolling, the Government considers it necessary to introduce a slew of initiatives and to consult the public.
We need to enhance primary healthcare by establishing a family doctor register, subsidising preventive care through private family doctors, improving public primary care services and strengthening public health education.
This will present an opportunity for patients to build a long-term relationship with their chosen family doctors within a community. This will also transform the healthcare system from one founded on curing patients to one driven by preventive care, promoting a healthy lifestyle to bring wellness and vitality to everyone in the community.
The recent flu in our community is a clear case in point. The rush of patients and parents with ailing children found in public clinics and hospitals has shown that people are often looking to public services rather than the private sector or family doctors for help.
This brings us to another point I want to emphasise. The scope for choice in medical services is indeed very limited.
Currently, there is a significant public-private imbalance in the healthcare system with an over-reliance on public services and a lack of healthy competition between service providers in the two sectors. One of the reasons for this imbalance is related to a lack of an efficient referral pathway between the two sectors.
We therefore need to develop an Electronic Health Record Sharing system to improve the way care is delivered, and to build a closer and healthier partnership between the two sectors.
As an individual, you would be able to authorise your private doctor and private hospital to access your electronic patient records in public hospitals, and ultimately have a life-long health record to which that you could authorise access for any health care providers in both the public and private sectors.
We also need to improve the safety net by increasing government commitment to healthcare, particularly in protecting low- to middle-income families struck by catastrophic illnesses, and rationalising resource allocation for public healthcare to concentrate on services for the needy.
Under whatever circumstances, the Government will continue to be the major pillar for supporting healthcare finances. The Government will uphold its long-established public healthcare policy that no one shall be denied adequate healthcare through a lack of means.
Of course, public discussion will zero in on the financial side of any reform, for it would affect everyone.
In trying to identify the appropriate financing arrangements for Hong Kong, we have explored six options: out-of-pocket payments, social health insurance, mandatory or voluntary private health insurance, medical savings accounts, and personal healthcare reserve, having drawn references from the experiences of many other places in the world.
The six financing options have their respective pros and cons and your expectations will not be entirely the same as mine. Due to different value judgements and practical circumstances, when considering the various financing options, people will have different views on some important principles.
The Financial Secretary has committed $50 billion to show the sincerity of the Government in shouldering the responsibility for supplementary financing for the community. It is prepared to allocate reserves to provide help, including one-off start-up capital for people who participate in the scheme.
Healthcare reform is a matter that concerns the health of everyone, we should take a personal responsibility.
We need to address the issue now and do what is right for Hong Kong, or else our citizens would suffer not too far from now and worrisome problems would cloud our children's horizons.
I always believe Hong Kong is a compassionate, free and caring community. People not only care for themselves, they also care for one another and their families, and are ready to take on self responsibility for the community. That is the reason why we treasure Hong Kong as our home.
This is our time for change. Let's embrace it, and move forward.
Love
Daddy
Ends/Sunday, March 16, 2008
Issued at HKT 08:46
NNNN
