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The Government welcomes members of the public to express views on the healthcare reform consultation document and discussions are not confined to the six proposed supplementary financing options, a spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau said today (April 5) in response to press enquiries.
"We welcome different views and any proposals apart from our six proposed options or any combination," the spokesman said.
The Government is open-minded on the supplementary financing options. The ongoing consultation is the first part of the two-stage consultation exercise. Pending views collected and narrowing down the areas of discussions, the next stage of consultation is expected to be launched next year to discuss the details of the favourable option. The public will be consulted on issues related to operation mode of the option, administrative structure and how to regulate before coming to a decision.
Since the launching of the consultation exercise, more than 20 briefing sessions, seminars and forums have been attended. The bureau has also agreed to attend some 80 sessions in the coming two months.
"We hope to seek the views of the public and know more about their preferences in order to build a consensus on an option acceptable to the public and best-suited to the circumstances of Hong Kong.
"With reference to the views collected in the first stage of consultation, we would work out the concrete proposals on supplementary financing options for the second stage consultation," the spokesman added.
Ends/Saturday, April 5, 2008
Issued at HKT 17:30
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